Witness
by Vol lady
Summary: Jarrod is a witness in a case against a San Francisco politician, but he's disappeared. When he reappears, it seems he's been taken to keep from testifying, and he and the family go looking to find out who was involved and what exactly happened to him.
1. Chapter 1

A "Bloodhound Everybody" kind of story.

The Witness

Chapter 1

Heath was often a light sleeper, especially when times were dangerous. When he perceived a threat, he was more alert even when asleep. When the threat was perceived not only by him but by everyone around him, he slept only lightly. He heard things he would not otherwise hear. He heard the voice outside the window.

A moan. A quiet cry for help.

Heath got up and went to the window, and looked and saw.

He got up fast and shook Nick in bed beside him. "Nick! Nick, get up!"

"What – " Nick muttered.

"He's here. He's outside. He's here."

Nick was awake instantly, and they both ran downstairs in bare feet, wearing only sleeping clothes. They were quiet. They didn't want to disturb their mother and sister or any of the neighbors, just in case they were wrong, but as soon as they pulled the front door open, they knew they weren't wrong.

They ran down the front steps of the townhouse, into the street where the man in a heap there was trying to get up. "Help – " the weak voice said again.

They bent beside him, overwhelmed with relief and then anger and confusion. They got him up and carried him up the steps into his living room, because he didn't seem to be fully awake. They put him on the sofa and Heath lit a lamp on the table beside it.

He hadn't been beaten. There wasn't a mark on him. But his blue eyes were full of black pupils, and his face wore a mask that said he had no idea where he was. Nick took his face in his hands. "Jarrod – you're home. It's Nick and Heath. You're home. We're here."

Jarrod panted, his eyes darting from one brother to the other, confused, trying to think, trying to recognize.

Victoria and Audra came down from upstairs, wrapped in robes. "Jarrod!" Victoria called.

Victoria hurried to his side. Heath hurried to Audra's, to hold her.

"What - ?" Jarrod said weakly, confused.

"You're home," Nick repeated. "Look at me. See me. It's Nick. Heath is here. Mother and Audra are here. We're in your home. You're home."

Jarrod started to breathe more heavily, and then he closed his eyes and the confusion in his face relaxed. "How'd I get here?" he asked.

Nick breathed easier. "I don't know."

Heath said, "I just heard something. I looked out the window and you were there on the street."

Jarrod looked at himself, saw that his suit jacket and tie were gone and he was just in his shirt sleeves. His clothes were filthy and wrinkled, and he smelled terrible. He couldn't see that his beard was very heavy and his hair unkempt and longer than he liked it. He looked up again, at all of the people standing around him, looking worried. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Victoria said. "You disappeared. You've been gone for a week."

"A week?" Jarrod sat upright. "The Pennimore trial!"

"Forget the Pennimore trial," Nick said.

"No! No! I have to testify!"

"Jarrod – Jarrod – " Victoria tried to calm him down. "The Pennimore trial is over."

Jarrod let the words sink in, all the words. Gone a week. The Pennimore trial over. "He was acquitted," Jarrod said.

"The case was dismissed," Nick said.

"Jarrod, do you need some water?" Audra asked. "What can we get you?"

"Water, yes," Jarrod said.

Audra hurried to the kitchen.

Jarrod sat up more straight, covered his eyes, trying to figure out everything that was going on.

"Jarrod, do you remember what happened to you?" Victoria asked.

"No," Jarrod said. "Nothing. I just – I just woke up out there on the sidewalk and I called for help and – somebody got me up here."

"Nick and me," Heath said.

Jarrod looked up again and looked around. "It's nighttime."

"About three in the morning," Heath said.

Audra arrived with a glass of water. She put it into Jarrod's hands. They were shaking so hard she kept hold of the glass even as he raised it to his mouth and drank.

Nick stood up and saw the mixture of emotions in his mother's face – relief Jarrod was here, concern he wasn't all right, anger that something had been done to him. He felt the same mixture himself. "You need a doctor," Nick said.

Jarrod brought the glass back down and let go of it. Audra still had hold of it and took it away. Jarrod shook his head. "In the morning. I need – I need to sleep. I don't know – I don't know what's happening. I need to sleep."

Victoria's eyes flashed. She didn't know if it was going to be dangerous to let him sleep. "Can we get a doctor here now?" she asked Nick quietly.

"A doctor lives next door," Audra said.

Everyone looked surprised that she knew that.

"I was here once and sprained my ankle," she explained. "It was early evening and Jarrod went next door and brought a doctor over. I don't remember his name." She pointed to the right.

"Abernathy," Jarrod said. "Don't wake him up."

"I think we'd better, Jarrod," Victoria said. "You're falling asleep and I don't know if you should."

Heath didn't wait for any more dispute out of Jarrod. He went back outside, still in just sleeping clothes, and to the house on the right. He pounded and pounded and didn't care that he was waking everybody up. A light came on and a very tall blond man in an undershirt, pants and slippers came to the door.

"I'm sorry," Heath said. "I'm Heath Barkley, Jarrod's brother – " He pointed to Jarrod's house next door. "We need you. Can you come?"

"He's back?" the man asked, heading right out.

Heath didn't know any of Jarrod's neighbors knew he'd been gone. They hadn't talked to any of them since they got here. "He just appeared about five minutes ago in the street," Heath said. "He wants to sleep but we're not sure he's all right."

The two men hurried down Dr. Abernathy's steps, then up Jarrod's. They went inside fast. Jarrod looked up from the sofa, his family surrounding him. He was looking more alert, and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry they got you up, Elias," Jarrod said.

Dr. Abernathy quickly came to Jarrod's side and looked into his eyes. "Where in the world have you been? Half the city's been looking for you for days."

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "I don't have any idea."

"No memory of it?"

"The last thing I remember I was having a drink in a saloon – I don't even remember where, and I don't know when that was or where I've been since."

Dr. Abernathy pushed Jarrod's sleeves up and looked at his arms, then straightened up. "He's been drugged, looks like he's been injected a few times but probably – " He stopped, leaned close, smelled Jarrod's breath, then straightened again. "Jarrod, you've been given something but I don't know what. It smells like valerian, but you've been injected with something too. I can only assume it was some other kind of sedative, if you don't have any memory of the past week. Do you have any pain?"

"No," Jarrod said.

Dr. Abernathy gave him a quick once over, paying particular attention to checking for any head injuries. "You don't look like you've been hit or anything, but you have been drugged."

"What do we do for him?" Victoria asked.

Jarrod sighed, weakening again, and he lay down across the sofa.

"Let him sleep, here on the sofa is better than trying to get him up the stairs. I'll check on him in the morning, but we'll have to have him taken to the hospital if we can't wake him up then," Dr. Abernathy said. Then he saw Victoria's alarm. "I don't think that will be a problem. Whatever's in him just has to wear off. If it's valerian, that's pretty innocuous unless he's been given too much of it. I don't think he was, and whatever they injected him with, I don't think it was recent. When he wakes up more, get some water and coffee into him. It'll help flush the drugs out of his system." He stopped and thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I think he'll wake up and be groggy for a bit maybe, but he'll be all right. If someone were trying to kill him, they'd have just killed him and dumped him into the bay. They wouldn't have kept him drugged and then brought him here. I guarantee you he didn't get here by himself."

"I'll go get a blanket," Audra said.

"And a pillow," Victoria told her as she went back upstairs.

Dr. Abernathy leaned down and opened Jarrod's eyes one more time for another look. "Jarrod, I'll be right next door if you need me, but I suspect you're gonna start feeling like yourself again in the morning."

"Then we'll just have to figure out where he's been for the past week and what in the world happened to him," Nick said.

Jarrod sighed and fell asleep. Dr. Abernathy nodded.

Heath said, "I'll stay down here with him. I'm awake now anyway."

"At least he's home," Victoria sighed.

"You know this had to have had something to do with Pennimore trial," Heath said.

Everyone else nodded. Nick said, "And we'll have to get the police over here first thing."

"Lord knows they've been looking for him long enough," Dr. Abernathy said. "I'm just grateful he's alive. We were beginning to think he wasn't."

"So were we," Victoria said very quietly, and she looked down at her sleeping oldest son with gratitude, and confusion. _Jarrod, what happened to you? Where have you been? Who had you?_ There were so many questions, and so far, Jarrod couldn't help answer them. He was here, but where he'd been and what had happened was as deep a mystery as it had been.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Three Days Earlier

"Mother!" Audra called as she came into the house.

Victoria thought for the umpteenth time that Audra was getting more like Nick every day. "I'm right here, sweetheart," she said, came into the foyer and took the mail Audra offered her. "Anything from Jarrod?"

"No," Audra said. "I'm sure he's been so busy with that trial he hasn't had time to write."

"You're probably right," Victoria said. "You didn't happen to see a San Francisco newspaper while you were in town, did you?"

"They hadn't come in yet," Audra said. "The train's been delayed by several hours – some kind of mechanical trouble. That's why there isn't much mail, either."

Jarrod was a witness in a trial in San Francisco, a case against a local councilman. It was a fairly rare event for Jarrod to be a witness, but this was a bribery trial, and Jarrod was the man the councilman had tried to bribe, to get him to drop the defense of another man the councilman had accused of bribing him. The whole thing was one crooked man charging another with being crooked. If Jarrod hadn't had time to write, that was logical. The newspaper from San Francisco hadn't mentioned Jarrod testifying in the trial last week. Not unusual, if he hadn't taken the stand yet, but the Barkleys left in Stockton were itching to know what was happening.

"Maybe we ought to go to San Francisco and see what's going on for ourselves," Audra suggested.

Victoria shook her head. "No, no. Jarrod asked me not to. He was afraid we'd get caught up in the political mess it was going to be, and from the newspapers we've read so far, it is turning out to be a mess. And he hasn't even testified yet, to my knowledge."

"I'm sure it'll be in the paper when he does, but I wish he had wired by now or something."

"Well, I told him we'd leave this all up to him. Nick and Heath should be coming in soon. I'll go check to see if Silas has started dinner."

She turned to head for the kitchen, and as she did, Nick and Heath came in the front door. "Darned mangy critters," Nick was muttering.

Victoria turned back to hear what the complaint was.

"The herd spooked twice today," Heath said. "We don't know why. They just did."

Nick saw the mail in his mother's hands. "Anything from Jarrod?"

"No," Victoria said, "and apparently the newspapers from San Francisco aren't in either."

"We better clean up," Nick suggested and he and Heath headed for the stairs.

They were almost at the top when a knock came on the door. Victoria had started for the kitchen again, but stopped as Audra went to the door and opened it. Sheriff Madden stood there, his hat in his hands.

"Sheriff!" Audra said and opened the door wider.

The sheriff came in, and Victoria came back toward him. Nick and Heath stopped at the landing near the top of the stairs, to hear what had brought the sheriff out.

"Hello, Fred," Victoria said.

He looked hurried. "Hello, Victoria. Is Jarrod here?"

"Jarrod? No, he has a trial in San Francisco. He left almost a week ago, but he expects to come back as soon as he's testified. If he didn't do that last week, he'll probably do it any time now." And she frowned.

Because the sheriff was frowning. Nick and Heath started back down the stairs as the sheriff said, "I just got a wire from the chief of police in San Francisco. That trial started last Thursday, and Jarrod hasn't attended at all. He's due to testify tomorrow, and they haven't been able to locate him."

"His houseman should know where he is," Victoria said.

Sheriff Madden shook his head. "Jarrod hasn't contacted his houseman to say he'd be coming in and they can't tell whether he's actually come in or not. His house looks undisturbed. His secretary at the office hasn't seen him either."

Everyone had the same horrible thought. Jarrod was a witness against a powerful politician. He hadn't been seen since he left Stockton. Something had happened to him.

Heath said, "Nick, you and I better go check this out."

They headed back up the stairs, but stopped when Victoria said, "We should go, too."

"Mother, let Heath and I check into it first," Nick said. "We can take the overnight train and be there by morning."

"Nick, Audra and I can stay at Jarrod's house and be out of the way but there! I want to know what's going on as fast as I can!"

Nick came back down to her. "And I don't blame you, but if something dangerous is happening, how's Jarrod gonna feel if you get caught up in it? Let me and Heath check it out first. We'll wire you by this time tomorrow. You can come on the overnight tomorrow night if need be."

Nick hurried back upstairs with Heath, without waiting for his Mother's protest.

Victoria looked at the sheriff, who looked very concerned. "Nick is right," he said. "You best stay here until they get a feel for what's going on."

"Are we sure that Jarrod got on the train and got out of Stockton?" Audra asked.

The sheriff nodded. "I asked Chad the first thing after I got this. He saw Jarrod get on the train himself."

"Fred, will you wire Jarrod's office right away?" Victoria asked. "Find out what his secretary knows."

"It seems like she doesn't know anything, but I will," Sheriff Madden said. And he reached for her hand and took it. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Victoria. We'll find Jarrod."

Victoria was still distraught. Jarrod had been gone for nearly a week, and no one noticed until now? Or if they noticed, they didn't say anything until now? And where was he? What happened to him?

Was he alive?

XXXXXXXXXX

The sun had been up for an hour or so the next morning when Nick and Heath were getting out of a hack in front of Jarrod's house in San Francisco. Nick had a key, and he and Heath would stay there for as long as they needed to. They carried their bags up, and Nick unlocked the door.

It was still dark inside. The drapes were closed. Heath put his bag down and started opening things up. The light from outside illuminated a house that looked like it usually did – except for one thing. Jarrod's briefcase was lying on the sofa.

Nick checked it. It was locked. "Well, he's been here," Nick said.

They looked around. Nick went into the dining room and kitchen. Heath went upstairs but was soon down again as Nick came back into the living room. Heath was saying, "That bed hasn't been slept in, and his closet and the bathroom look like anybody's been here. I'd say he got here, left his briefcase and then went out to get something to eat or something."

"It would have been about dinner time when he got here," Nick said. He stood there in the center of the room and sighed. "Heath, I don't even know where to start looking."

"We better check the carriage garage downstairs, just to be sure."

Jarrod had no carriage here so the garage should have been empty except for certain things needed in the house, and it was. Nick and Heath went back outside and stood on the street. There were no neighbors around. "Maybe we ought to start knocking on doors," Nick said.

"The police have been looking for him. If one of the neighbors had seen him when he got in, they'd have told them," Heath said.

"If he came in, put the briefcase down and went out to get something to eat, he'd have probably gone someplace fast, not very fancy."

"His favorite saloon is only a few blocks down," Nick said.

"Let's go," Heath said.

But there was no luck there. The owner/bartender was there and let them in when they pounded on the door, even though he was not open yet, but he said, "Sorry, boys, I had to close for a couple nights," said. "I had a pipe leak in the back room and it flooded all the way out here. If Jarrod came by while I was closed, he'd have just gone somewhere else."

"Where do you think?" Heath asked.

"There's no telling. There must be six bars in the next six blocks. You'll just have to ask around."

"Is there a quick café or someplace he might have gone to get a fast dinner?" Nick asked.

"Two cafes, both south of here. You'll run into them. Boys, I'm really sorry, I had no idea Jarrod was missing. He's testifying in that Pennimore trial, isn't he?"

Both the Barkleys nodded.

And the owner looked very unhappy, shaking his head. "I'm sorry," he said.

They knew why he was sorry, but they refused to entertain the idea that somebody had gotten to him and dumped him in the bay. He was not dead. They refused to believe he was dead. "We'll keep looking," Nick said. "We're staying at his place – slide a note under the door if you hear anything, will you?"

The man nodded. "Sure."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Before they did much more pounding of the pavement, Nick and Heath checked the nearest hospital to see if Jarrod might be there, but he wasn't and he hadn't been. "It was worth a try, but in a way I'm glad he's not there," Heath said.

They then got a bite to eat and started checking the cafes and pounding on barroom doors. They found today's newspaper with Jarrod's photo on the front, the caption saying he was missing, and they carried it with them to show to the people they talked to, but after two hours went by, they still had found nothing. Jarrod seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth after he left his briefcase at home and went out.

"Reckon it's time to check in with the police," Heath said.

They had worked their way down to the local police station by then, and they went in, but they found out the investigation into their brother's whereabouts was being run out of headquarters further in town. Nick and Heath had to hail a hack, and it took another hour to do that and get down to the headquarters building. Once there, it didn't take long to find the man in charge of the case. He was glad to see them.

His name was Lt. Galway. He was a young man, a little younger than Nick, but he seemed to have his wits about him and he quickly filled them in on where they had looked – Jarrod's house, the same places Nick and Heath had just looked, plus a few more – and what they had found – nothing.

"Did you check his club?" Nick asked. "Maybe he went there."

Lt. Galway nodded. "We checked. I've got men out now still checking, but so far, there's just nothing."

"This had to have something to do with the case he's to testify in," Heath said. "He's due to testify today."

"And I have someone at the courthouse in case he does come in, but gentlemen, I'm not optimistic." Lt. Galway sighed and lowered his voice. "This is a dirty town. With a politician on trial, anything can happen. I'm not leaving any stone unturned, but your brother seems to have been gone for a week now. That's not a good sign."

"But you haven't found a body," Heath said. "That is a good sign."

Lt. Galway lowered a very blunt gaze at Heath. "If he's been killed and dumped out to sea, the tide would have carried him out and we might never find a body. I'm sorry, but you'd better be prepared for anything, including the fact that we may never know what happened to him."

Discouraged and frightened, Nick and Heath left the man with instructions to get in touch with them at Jarrod's house the minute he knew anything. Lt. Galway said he would do that, and Nick and Heath left.

To find themselves out on the sidewalk, not knowing what to do at all now. "Maybe we oughtta go down to the courthouse and see what's happening there," Heath suggested.

Nick nodded. "I'm not expecting him to show up there though."

"Neither am I," Heath said, "but if he does, we oughtta be there, and if he doesn't, we better talk to the D.A. and see what he plans to be doing about this."

Nick nodded again. The courthouse wasn't far, so they walked and they found the courtroom where the trial was being held just by noticing all the reporters and other people hanging around. It took them some fancy talking to get by the policemen at the door, who did not want to let anyone else in. They told him who they were, and they asked if their brother had shown up. The policeman they talked to just shook his head, but he opened the door and let them into the courtroom.

The room was packed. There was no place to sit down so they just stood at the back. A man was on the stand giving testimony, but it wasn't Jarrod. They couldn't see Jarrod anywhere, but all they were seeing were the backs of heads. They looked very carefully, scrutinizing everything and everyone they could, but Jarrod wasn't there.

They hadn't even heard what the witness said, but they did hear the judge say, "We'll take a recess." Everyone stood up as the judge left, and Nick and Heath worked their way down to the D.A.

"Mr. – " Nick started and realized he didn't know the man's name, so the man didn't turn around. "Mr. D.A. – " he ended up saying.

The man did turn around then. He was an older man, very serious looking.

"I'm Nick Barkley, this is my brother Heath," Nick said. "We're Jarrod Barkley's brothers."

The D.A. became very interested. "Do you know where he is? Have you seen him?"

Nick shook his head. "We hoped somehow he might be here."

The D.A. slumped. "He's more than fifty percent of my case, and he's gone."

"He wouldn't just not show up," Heath said.

"I know that," the D.A. said. "I'm downright scared about this but the police haven't turned anything up yet. I'm going to put his testimony last – that'll be tomorrow morning instead of today. Do you have any idea at all where he might be?"

Nick shook his head. "We're just hoping he's still alive," he said, very quietly.

Nick looked at the next table, but the lawyers there were talking to the defendant. Nick realized he could be looking at the man who had ordered his brother's death, but he tried not to react. It wouldn't do anybody any good. If he grabbed the man by the throat, it still wouldn't tear the truth out of him. But Nick imprinted the man's face on his memory, for future reference, because if Jarrod turned up dead, or if they never found him –

"Where are you staying?" the D.A. asked.

Heath said, "Jarrod's house."

The D.A. handed Heath his business card. "You contact me if you hear anything at all, and I'll contact you if I do."

"Can you get a conviction without Jarrod?" Nick asked.

"I don't think I can even get by a motion to dismiss without him," the D.A. said.

Nick glanced at the defendant again, then looked back at the D.A. "Pennimore's behind this, isn't he? He knows where Jarrod is."

"Take it easy, Nick," Heath warned. "We're in court."

The D.A. shook his head. "I don't have any proof of that, at least not yet. But if I get it, you can bet I'll charge Pennimore so fast he won't know what hit him."

"Let's get out of here and keep looking," Heath said.

He and Nick left. Heath checked his watch as soon as they were outside. It was just past noon. Heath looked up and down the street as Nick frowned at the pavement.

"We better get something to eat before we keep looking," Heath said. "If we get something around here, it'll give us another place to ask too. I'll bet Jarrod's been to all these places at one time or another."

"Yeah," Nick said.

"And then we better wire Mother."

Nick looked at him like he was crazy. "And say what?"

"We better come up with something, or she'll be here by tomorrow morning."

Now Nick sighed. "We might best let her come. She's gonna need to be here if we can't find Jarrod today. We can't just leave her at home wondering if her oldest son is dead."

Now it was Heath's turn to say, "Yeah."

XXXXXXXXX

Audra came in from town with the wire from Nick and Heath. Victoria could tell the telegram was bad just by the look on Audra's face. She took the wire, she read it. _No news_, it said. _Come on overnight train_.

"We'll get packed," Victoria said resolutely.

Then she and Audra didn't know what to say to each other. They had never been so frightened, so worried that one of their men was dead. There was a low level of worry all of the time – Nick and Heath were ranchers, and ranchers got injured and killed just doing their jobs. Jarrod was a lawyer who did criminal work, and there had been several threats against his life through the years. But the low level was high now. Victoria could see in the words of the telegram that Nick and Heath were discouraged. She could see they were scared.

Audra leaned over and kissed her mother's cheek. "We'll find him, Mother. We'll figure this out."

Victoria nodded, but wondered exactly what they would find. "We'll get packed," she said again.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Gentlemen's clubs," Nick said as he and Heath ate some dinner at one of the small cafés near Jarrod's house. They had spent all afternoon checking around the area of the courthouse, turning up nothing. "That and hit the saloons again in case somebody comes in who saw something."

Heath nodded. "There's Jarrod's private club, too, the one all the lawyers and politicians go to. Even though the police have checked it, it can't hurt for us to do it too."

"That's best left for lunchtime tomorrow," Nick said. "That's when the muckity-mucks put their heads together, but I'm betting we won't find any help there either."

"We gotta give it a try anyway." Heath seemed to be thinking about something, and then he said, "You know, if Jarrod doesn't show up to testify tomorrow and that D.A. loses on that motion to dismiss, the court case could be over by tomorrow afternoon."

"Which means what?"

"Well, let's think about this and who we're dealing with. Is a politician gonna want to see Jarrod murdered? Kept from testifying, yeah, that might happen, but there are ways other than murder to keep a man from testifying."

"You're thinking that somebody has him kept out of sight, and he'll turn up once the trial is over," Nick said.

Heath nodded.

"One problem with that idea," Nick said. "Jarrod would be able to finger whoever took him and held him."

"Maybe not. Keep him locked up somewhere, don't let him see anybody."

"It would be a lot easier to just kill him and dump him in the bay, and it would make a lot bigger statement to anybody wanting to cross Pennimore again."

Heath nodded. "But I'm not ready to give him up for dead yet. I don't think he _is_ dead. I bet you don't either."

Nick had to agree, and shook his head. "No, I don't think he's dead either. At least I'm not ready to give up looking for him. Okay, saloons and gentlemen's clubs tonight. Even if Jarrod does turn up when this trial is over, I'll bet he ain't gonna know what happened to him or who had him, and we'll be doing all this anyway."

"If Mother and Audra are here tomorrow, they're gonna want to do something too," Heath said.

"Churches," Nick said quickly. "Churches and shops and hospitals. Safe public places for them to go. They might not find out much, but it'll keep them busy and we'll get more places ticked off our list."

"Lawyer's and doctor's offices," Heath said.

Nick nodded. "You and I can check them tomorrow. And in the meantime I'll hope that you're right and he just turns up after the trial is over."

After dinner, they started rechecking the saloons again but to no avail. They came across three gentlemen's clubs in the area, too. At the first one there was no luck. Neither the doorman nor the bartender had seen Jarrod come in there at any time. The second one turned out to be a bit more interesting a place than they bargained for.

It was a place the bartender at the first club suggested. It didn't have any sign of any kind on it, and it was down in a basement. Nick and Heath at first thought they were sent to a place that didn't exist, but as they looked it over, someone came out – a well-dressed man, young and good-looking, who smiled and nodded at them as he went by but didn't say a word. Nick and Heath looked at each other, then went down the stairs.

The door was locked, but there was a small opening with a sliding door in it that opened fast when they tried the door. A pair of brown eyes looked out at them. Nick said, "Uh – Raymond at the Dark Hours Club sent us."

The brown eyes looked them up and down, then the sliding door closed but the main door opened and let them in. The doorman was a big man, unsmiling. He tilted his head toward a small hallway. Nick and Heath went in, down the hallway, and into a large room full of comfortable leather chairs, most of them occupied by very well-dressed men. There was a bar with two bartenders, but there were no women in the place. Not even barmaids. All the servants were young men.

Nick and Heath looked at each other again and went to the bar. One of the bartenders, another well-dressed young man, said, "Good evening."

"Good evening," Nick said and took the newspaper photo of Jarrod out of his pocket. "We're looking for someone."

The bartender stiffened. Heath was beginning to get the picture around here and quickly said, "We're not the police. The man we're looking for is our brother."

Nick showed the photo to the bartender, who immediately relaxed a bit. "Jarrod Barkley," he said.

"Do you know him?" Nick asked.

The bartender nodded. "He defended me last year on – some charges."

"Have you seen him in the last week?" Heath asked.

The bartender shook his head. "I haven't seen him since my trial."

"He doesn't come in here?"

The bartender hesitated, but then said, "He's not part of my clientele."

Nick had gotten the picture by now, too. What these young men were doing here – the reason they came here, and the reason for the basement business and the very secure door – it was all very illegal. This wasn't a place Jarrod would be inclined to give his patronage to even if it was legal, but both Nick and Heath could see him defending this bartender on the type of charge made against him. Jarrod had a tendency to want to give voice to those who had little of it.

Heath asked, "Have you maybe heard anything about him, any rumors about where he might be?"

"He's missing?" the bartender asked.

Nick nodded. "For a week. He's set to testify in that Pennimore trial."

The bartender straightened even more, with an, "Oh – "

Heath read something into that. "You know Pennimore?"

The bartender hesitated then, and finally said, "Only by reputation. I'm sorry, gentlemen. Your brother was very helpful to me and got me acquitted, but I haven't seen him since then, and I haven't heard anything at all about him either. And you might just want to move on out of here. I don't think we're your kind of club."

"Yeah, we get that," Nick said and put the photo back in his pocket. "If you do hear anything, will you get word to Jarrod's office?"

The bartender nodded. "Of course."

Nick and Heath left by the front door and headed up to the street, where Nick said, "Well, that was interesting."

"Why don't we go see that last club down the street?" Heath asked. "Though I suppose it's possible Jarrod doesn't frequent any of the gentlemen's clubs around here."

"It's possible," Nick said, "but we can't leave any stone unturned. We need to find Pappy and we need to find him soon."

The next club was a straight gentlemen's club, like the first one, but this one knew Jarrod. "Yes, he's been here before. Not often," the bartender said.

"Has he been here lately?" Nick asked.

"Not even this year," the bartender said. "The woman he liked to see – well, she moved out of the area. It wasn't what we do in general he came for. He came specifically for her."

"Where did she go?" Nick asked.

"Chicago," the man said.

Nick and Heath looked at each other. Whoever she was, she wasn't involved in this, unless she came back and the barkeep didn't know it, or just wasn't saying so.

"Have you heard anything at all about our brother?" Heath asked.

"Only that he's due to testify in the Pennimore trial." And then the light went on in the man's head. "Oh, good night. Somebody got him, didn't they?"

"It's starting to look that way," Heath said.

The bartender shook his head.

"Do you know anything about Pennimore?" Nick asked.

"No," the bartender said. "He doesn't come here."

Nick said. "Look, if you hear anything at all about Jarrod or anything you think might help us, can you contact his office?" Nick gave the man the address.

The bartender nodded. "I hope you find him all right."

Nick and Heath both nodded their thanks and went out.

Nick checked his watch once they were outside. It was getting onto eleven o'clock. "We better turn in for the night. Mother and Audra will be getting in pretty early and I want to be there to meet them."

"Yeah," Heath said. "Tomorrow, we see the doctors and the lawyers and stop by Jarrod's club, after we get Mother and Audra settled."

"We better go to court first, in case Jarrod turns up. And maybe see if that case gets dismissed outright like the D.A. is afraid of."

"I bet Jarrod won't show up," Heath said. "I bet this case will be over before lunch."

"If it is, and if we can get into Jarrod's club, maybe we'll find out something if somebody gets a few drinks in him and lets his tongue wag."

"It's worth hoping for," Heath said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nick and Heath kissed their mother and sister when the women got off the train, and they each grabbed their bags. Victoria and Audra had packed to stay for a while. They both looked tired from a tough overnight trip. "We need to freshen up," Victoria said first thing.

As the men led them away, Heath said, "Court will start up again at about nine. We figured we ought to be there."

"Jarrod's due up this morning as the last witness for the prosecution," Nick said. "If he doesn't show, the D.A. is afraid the case will be dismissed."

"Jarrod won't like that one bit," Audra said.

Nick could see the look in his mother's eyes. She was worried sick that Jarrod never would appear again, that he'd never know the case was dismissed, that they would never know what happened to him. The men hailed a hack where several waited outside the depot, and after they loaded the luggage on board, Nick gave his mother another kiss on the cheek. "Try not to worry, Mother. Heath and I both think there's a real good chance Jarrod might turn up if the case is dismissed."

"We're thinking somebody might have him just long enough to keep him from testifying," Heath said.

"Do you really think so?" Audra asked anxiously as Heath helped her into the hack.

"We do," Heath said.

Nick helped his mother on board, and Victoria said, "I hope you're right, but at the same time I'd hate to see the case dismissed. This Pennimore is out and out crooked and needs to pay for it."

Nick and Heath climbed in, Nick saying, "Well, we'll probably find out in a few hours."

The hack took them to Jarrod's house, and the women settled in and freshened up. It was tough for both Victoria and Audra to be in Jarrod's home, so full of him everywhere – in the humidor on the desk, in the briefcase Heath had set on the floor, in that armchair he favored. The scent of his aftershave and cigars was everywhere, and both women ached in it, but neither one spoke about it. Instead they worked to believe Nick and Heath were right, that Jarrod was just being held somewhere and would be returned when the case was dismissed.

They made their way to the courthouse and arrived before the trial began. Again, the place was crowded, maybe even more crowded than before, and as they made their way to the door to try to get in, someone called to Victoria. "Mrs. Barkley! Have you any idea whether your son will appear today or not?"

"None," was all Victoria said, and they were allowed into the courtroom.

Each one of them had been hoping to see Jarrod's black hair near the front of the gallery, waiting to be called as a witness, but he wasn't there. He still wasn't there as the case was called to order and the judge asked for the prosecution's next witness. The prosecutor looked all around the room, and then deflated. "No further witnesses, Your Honor," the D.A. said. "The prosecution rests."

Then it happened just as the D.A. feared. The defense moved to dismiss the case. The D.A. did the best he could to argue against it, but the judge really had no choice. Without Jarrod, the D.A. didn't have a prayer. The judge dismissed the case.

Nick in particular steamed to watch Pennimore grin from ear to ear, shake his attorneys' hands, and then walk out of the courtroom free and easy. Victoria took hold of Nick's arm as Pennimore walked by them. The courtroom emptied before the Barkleys began to move, and before they could leave, the D.A. came up to them.

"I haven't heard a word from him," the D.A. said.

"Neither have we," Heath said.

"I'm so sorry," the D.A. said. "I detest losing this case, but I'm more concerned about Jarrod. I'll keep doing everything I can to find out what happened to him, and if Pennimore is at all behind it, I promise you, he'll be right back in here as fast as I can make it happen."

It sounded like the D.A. had decided Jarrod was dead. Both Victoria and Audra felt tears come but stifled them. The D.A. left, and the Barkleys remained alone. "I don't want to deal with the press," Victoria said.

The judge's voice suddenly came from the door to his chambers, up behind the bench. He had come out again. He pointed to another door near the jury box. "Try this way," he said. "There should be fewer people – and please understand, while I had to be impartial during this trial, I've been worried sick about Jarrod, too."

They really had no idea Jarrod and this judge knew each other, but it figured that they did. "Thank you," Victoria said.

They got out through the jury's exit to the jury room and only had two reporters to deal with. They just walked on through them and were soon on another street, hailing a hack back to Jarrod's house. Once there, they sat, and rested, and talked.

Nick and Heath explained their ideas for what they should do now, but recommended an early lunch before they all set off to ask more questions about Jarrod's whereabouts. "We haven't eaten yet this morning," Victoria said, "and we should."

"There's a nice café right down the street," Nick said. "Why don't we go there and have a bite and plot out exactly where we're going to go?"

They agreed, but once at the café they found that none of them really had much of an appetite. They were too worried, too unhappy that the case against Pennimore had been dismissed. They each poked at their food a bit as they made plans about who was going where and when they would regroup.

"Maybe, Mother, I should go with you and Heath should go with Audra," Nick suggested.

"No," Victoria said. "You can go places we can't go with you. Audra and I will visit the churches and the shops. You and Heath need to try Jarrod's club right away, to see if anyone is lunching there who might know something. The club won't let us in."

"You need to be careful," Heath said.

"We know," Victoria said, "but we're not going anyplace that's really dangerous. We'll be all right, and we'll all meet again at about five at Jarrod's place."

Nick offered the key to Jarrod's house, but Victoria had brought her own. Before noon hit, they were ready to go, to search some more for the lost member of their family, to find him or find out what happened to him. Because they were not about to give up until they knew the truth.

XXXXXXXX

They decided that Jarrod probably had not gone far from his home the night he arrived and left his briefcase there, so Victoria and Audra began their search with the shops and churches close to where he lived. They tried the men's shops first – and found nothing. They tried the other shops next – ladies' shops, mercantiles, the market – nothing. No one had seen Jarrod.

Trying not to feel discouraged, Victoria and Audra next went to the churches. There were five within a seven block area – two catholic, three protestant. They tried the catholic churches first and found a lot of sympathy, but nothing about Jarrod, even though Father Kinney at one of the churches said, "He does check in when he's here as a rule. We have a children's gathering in the morning, and he likes to stop by and bring apples and pears from the market. Needless to say, the children adore him."

It made the Barkley women smile. "We had no idea he did that," Victoria said.

"He's been known to pitch in for flowers for the altar, too," Father Kinney said, "even though he doesn't always come here for services. You should visit the other churches in the area. I know for a fact he helps to feed the poor at Saint Monica's about six blocks south when he's in town, and for the First Presbyterian the next street over. He's a good man, your son, and I will pray heartily for his deliverance to us soon."

Audra couldn't help the tears. She squeezed the priest's hand. "Thank you, Father. We'll let you know when we find him."

The visit to the First Presbyterian went pretty much the same. The minister there had not seen Jarrod in weeks, but he sang praises for the man who helped to keep their pantry full and sometimes came to services on Sunday. The story was the same at Saint Monica's and the other protestant churches. Jarrod paid attention to them when he was in town, but no one had seen him in weeks.

Victoria and Audra took both joy and worry in what they found that afternoon – worry that no one had seen Jarrod, joy that he was known as a good neighbor and benefactor in the neighborhood. But they didn't find any trace of him at all, and when they met with Nick and Heath at the end of the day at Jarrod's home, the Barkley men told much the same story.

"Nobody's seen Jarrod in weeks," Heath explained. "Nobody we saw at the trial was at his club at lunch, and we went back at about four to see if anyone was coming in for drinks, but we didn't see anybody we knew or saw in court."

"We checked with a lot of doctor's offices too," Nick said. "We didn't get anywhere, didn't even find the doctor Jarrod regularly sees if he gets sick here. I'm sorry, Mother. We're running out of places to check."

"Have you checked the hospitals?" Audra asked.

"We checked the one nearby first thing after we got here the other day," Nick said. "Nothing."

"We're gonna check some of the others tomorrow," Heath said, "but if he was in any of them, I'm sure they'd have contacted the police."

"What do we do if we can't find him anywhere?" Audra asked.

No one spoke. No one knew what they were going to do. Nick finally said, "Keep checking. I'll pound on every door in San Francisco if I have to."

"Nick," Victoria said calmly, quietly, "that isn't practical. It would take every minute of every day for the rest of your life. No, we'll keep looking and rechecking tomorrow and the next day and the day after that, but if we haven't found him – there will come a time – "

"No time limit," Nick said quickly. "No set time limit."

"No," Victoria said. "We'll know when it's time to quit. No time limit."

Heath had taken himself to the window and looked outside. He wasn't quite sure why he did that. There was no one out there except two or three people walking by. It was just that something prompted him to look, something that said "pay attention to the street." He didn't share his feeling, not yet, but he didn't ignore it either.

It was during that night, at three in the morning, that Heath woke up and something compelled him to the window again. And there was Jarrod, helpless in a heap at the foot of his stairs.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The morning after he was dumped at his front door, Jarrod woke with Dr. Abernathy back looking into his eyes, shining a light into them now. Jarrod swatted him away irritably and sat up. Dr. Abernathy said, "Well, it looks like he's awake."

Jarrod looked around. Everyone else was already awake and functioning. He could smell coffee and breakfast – but the scent made him sick. He turned green, moaned, got up, and said, "I need to go upstairs."

"I got him," Nick said and helped him upstairs.

Dr. Abernathy said, "He probably won't feel much like having solid food this morning, maybe just an egg and only a sip or two of coffee, but try to get him to take some water. I think he'll be fine in a day or so."

"He slept sound," Heath said.

"He's still got drugs in him," Dr. Abernathy said.

"Why valerian?" Victoria asked abruptly. "Why do you think it was valerian and not opium?"

"The smell of his breath," Dr. Abernathy said. "It takes a lot of valerian to keep a man asleep, but it's not a drug you have to get from someone else, it's not addictive and it's very hard to overdose on. You ingest it. It doesn't need to be injected or smoked. The plant grows easily. You can have a lot of it around and no one knows you have it. No way to trace it to you if you're going to use it for illegal purposes, unless of course they suspect you for other reasons. From the looks of his arms he was injected with something, too, probably to take him down faster if need be, but he wasn't injected a lot. Of course, I'm just drawing conclusions that could be wrong, but I think I'm right."

It was quite a while before Jarrod came back down, Nick staying close to him. But Jarrod had cleaned up, shaved and put on fresh clean clothes. He looked a lot more upright coming down than he looked going up.

Dr. Abernathy was still there. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"I'm more awake," Jarrod said. "I can't keep anything down yet, though."

"Try a soft-boiled egg and a little black tea," Dr. Abernathy said.

Jarrod noticed Heath wasn't there. "Where'd Heath go?"

"To get the police," Victoria said. "You need to talk to them before you do much else."

"Jarrod, do you remember anything yet about what happened to you?" Audra asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "No, not yet. I want to get out and look around and see if I can get anything to come back to me."

"Let's try to get a little food and tea into you, and wait until you talk to the police," Victoria said. "See if you're up to it."

Jarrod stood up straighter. He looked around at everyone. He seemed a lot stronger than he'd been last night, but still not his usual healthy self. His clothes hung on him a bit. He had lost weight since being taken, but Nick said, "You don't look as thin as I thought you would. They must have given you something to eat or drink."

Suddenly Jarrod said, "Milk," and was surprised he said it.

"Milk?" Dr. Abernathy said.

Jarrod nodded. "I remember drinking milk, funny tasting milk. More than once, when I was sort of awake."

"That's probably what the valerian was in," Dr. Abernathy said, "but if you can remember that, can you remember who was giving you the milk?"

Jarrod shook his head. "Not yet. I can't remember any faces or voices. I can hardly remember getting my eyes open."

"I'll make an egg for you," Victoria said and went into the kitchen.

Audra went with her and returned shortly with a cup of black tea. "Sit down, sip on this," she said.

Jarrod sat and took the cup. His hands were far more steady this morning – he didn't need help drinking. "This does help," he admitted.

"Just take it easy with it," Dr. Abernathy said. "Now, I need to be going. I have other patients to see today." He looked up at Nick and Audra. "I think he'll improve as the day goes on, but if there are any setbacks – if he falls asleep and can't wake up – get him to a hospital."

"I'll be fine," Jarrod said. "I have work of my own to do."

"What work?" Nick asked.

Jarrod looked up at him. "I need to find out where I've been and who had me."

"The police can work on that," Nick said. "You need to get steady."

Jarrod shook his head. "I need to go places and see things if I'm going to remember much more. After we talk to the police, I'm going out, and you and Heath are going with me. Three men are tougher to overpower than one."

"At least you're making sense about that," Nick said.

"Oh, I'm gonna make a lot of sense today," Jarrod said. "I know what I want to do and how to do it, and I'll do it."

Heath came back before long and told them that the sergeant he saw at the police station was sending for Lt. Galway, the young officer he and Nick had seen at police headquarters when they first came looking for Jarrod. Jarrod didn't like the idea of waiting around for him. It was getting on toward noon and he was anxious to get out and start trying to find out what had happened to him.

But Victoria made him eat a soft-boiled egg and then fixed him another as she put lunch together for everyone. "You need to get some strength back before you go running around town," she said.

"I'll take a hack," Jarrod said, and gave his mother a little smile.

He was angry, she could tell, but not so enraged he was losing himself. Jarrod was still pretty focused, and so far, apparently not ready to take the law into his own hands. Right now, he was planning how to investigate, not how to wrestle justice out of anyone. As long as he could smile a little, Victoria felt better.

"I need to get hold of my houseman Steven and have him get in here to help you," Jarrod said as Victoria and Audra cleared the table.

"We're doing all right," Audra said.

"But you need some help," Jarrod said. "I'll send a message to him to come over starting tomorrow. If he's here and you think you want to head back to Stockton – "

"Not yet," Victoria quickly cut him off. "I appreciate that you boys plan to figure out what happened here – and Jarrod, I definitely appreciate that you know you shouldn't be doing it alone – but you might need me and Audra, too. We'll stick around just in case you need us for more than doing the dishes."

The front door bell rang then. The closest to the door, Nick went to it and pulled it open. It was Lt. Galway, along with a constable no one recognized. Nick invited them both in and made the introductions.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Barkley?" Lt. Galway asked Jarrod. "We were pretty worried about you."

"I'm fine," Jarrod said. "I need to get some strength back, but that'll come."

"Do you know what happened to you?"

"Only that someone took me from somewhere, drugged me and kept me drugged – the doctor said with valerian – and brought me back here during the night," Jarrod said. "I think it's pretty clear I was taken to keep me from testifying against Henry Pennimore."

"That's the assumption we've been making too," Lt. Galway said, "and frankly, we're surprised you're still alive."

"I'm a little surprised myself," Jarrod admitted. "What kind of luck have you had in trying to find out what happened to me?"

"None," Lt. Galway said. "We've talked to a lot of bar owners and bartenders and restaurant cooks and waiters and everyone else we can think of, but we got nowhere. You don't have any memory of anyone who might have taken you?"

Jarrod shook his head. "If I ever saw them, the drugs took the memory away."

Lt. Galway gave a sigh.

Jarrod said, "I intend to go out and retrace my steps from the night I was taken, as best I can. Maybe something will jog my memory."

"I'd like Officer Kelly here to go with you."

"I'd rather he not," Jarrod said. "I'll have my two brothers here with me. I think we might be better able to shake some information loose if we don't have a police officer in tow."

"You might be right," Lt. Galway said, "but you might also shake some information loose that upsets Mr. Pennimore, and you'll be more vulnerable without a police officer along."

"I'd rather take my chances," Jarrod said. "We can touch base with you and let you know when it looks like we've gotten something."

Lt. Galway looked uncomfortable about it, but he nodded. "All right. We'll play it your way, at least for a day or two. But the moment you think you might be getting close to something, I expect you to let me know."

Jarrod nodded. "Understood."

The police left, and it wasn't long after that that Jarrod got up and announced, "Let's go."

"You sure you're up to it?" Heath asked.

Jarrod nodded. He was upright and sensible. "We'll hail a hack – it shouldn't take long. I know where I was going. It's a few blocks away."

"If it's that favorite bar of yours, we already talked to the owner," Nick said. "He was closed the night you were taken. Pipe leak."

Jarrod thought about it. His eyes narrowed as he tried to remember, but he didn't remember that. "If that were so, I'd have moved on down the street until I found someplace. We can do that."

"We did that, too, Jarrod," Heath said. "Nobody said they saw you."

Jarrod said. "Maybe they didn't remember. Maybe they'll remember if they see me now. Mother, Audra, I don't think there's a lot of food in the house. Steven keeps a few things handy but only a few."

Victoria nodded. "We noticed. We picked up a couple things at the market but we'll go there again and stock up better."

Jarrod leaned over and kissed both women. "Thank you for coming to my rescue."

"When will you be back? Audra and I can take care of ourselves, but I'd feel better knowing when you'll be in."

Jarrod said, "I'm not sure. I don't know where this is going to lead."

Victoria smiled and gave him a kiss. "Well, just look out for yourself out there. Someone is not going to want you to find out anything."

"I know," Jarrod said. "We'll be careful."

He headed for the door, Nick and Heath behind him. They both gave their mother and sister a slight reassuring smile, and then they were all out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jarrod spotted a hack as soon as they were out the door and waved it down. The hack driver had taken Jarrod as a passenger more than once before, and he said, "Hello, Mr. Barkley! Good God, sir, I'd heard you were missing!"

"I'm back," Jarrod said as he and his brothers climbed in, "but I'm somewhat the worse for wear and need a driver for a bit. Take me down to my favorite saloon, where you've picked me up a night or two." Then with a thought, "You didn't happen to pick me up one night a week ago Tuesday, did you?"

The driver said, "No, I didn't see you, but I'm glad you're back, Mr. Barkley," he said.

In a few minutes he was letting them out in front of the saloon that was supposedly closed the night he was taken. Jarrod stood looking up at the place, which had just opened, and he tried to remember if he had come here that night or not. He just couldn't remember. "I'm not sure," he said and led the way in.

The bartender was still setting up for the day and looked up from behind the bar – and broke into a big grin. "Mr. Barkley! My Lord, we've been worried about you!"

There were no other patrons yet. Jarrod led his brothers up to the bar. "You met my brothers the other night, I hear, Levi," Jarrod said. He looked at Nick and Heath. "Beer?"

They nodded.

"Three," Jarrod said, and Levi started pouring. "Levi, I don't remember the night I was taken but it was the 14th, I'm sure of that. My brothers tell me you were closed because of a pipe leak that night."

Levi nodded. "That night and each night either side. It took me that long to get the problem fixed and to clean up to the health department's liking."

"Did you see me at all that night?"

The Barkley brothers took their beers and began drinking. "No," Levi said. "I had a closed sign up. I guess you saw it and kept on going."

Jarrod only took a sip or two of his beer. His stomach wasn't up to much more than that. "So you don't know if anyone was following me."

"No, I'm sorry, I never saw you. What happened? Did somebody snatch you?"

"It looks that way," Jarrod said. "Let me know if you hear anything at all about it, will you? I don't remember any of it."

"Sure," Levi said. "It's awful good to see you back and all right."

They chatted a bit more as Nick and Heath finished their beer. Jarrod left almost all of his before thanking Levi and leading his brothers out. Once on the street, Jarrod stood and looked up and down, trying to remember where he went the night he was taken, if this place was closed. He turned and faced the building and imagined he saw the closed sign.

"You want us to get a hack?" Heath asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "I don't remember, but I suspect I'd have just kept walking down the street and gone into the first place that was open. I can walk that far."

They headed somewhat slowly further down the street, paying attention to Jarrod's strength or lack of it. They came to the next saloon, the first one that would have been open if Jarrod's favorite was closed. Jarrod abruptly stopped on the street, and stared. He was reading the name on the sign that hung outside – The Red Tent. Heckuva name, he thought – and he remembered thinking that before, many other befores and just not the night he was taken. But a pin prick stuck in his mind. He stood, he stared, he thought.

"I was here," he said.

"When you were taken?" Heath asked.

Jarrod stared some more, his eyes narrow and shifting as he looked and thought. He finally nodded. "Yes. It was here."

"The bartender said he hadn't seen you," Nick said.

"He lied," Jarrod said.

"Or it was a different bartender," Heath said.

Jarrod shook his head. "There's only one bartender, the owner. If he said he didn't see me, he lied."

Jarrod quickly went through the door into the bar, without waiting to see if Nick or Heath were close behind him. There were several men in the place, but the light was fairly low and it was difficult to see too far into the room. Jarrod headed straight for the bar and the bartender.

And he remembered the man. He remembered talking to the man. He remembered the man's name. "Louis," he said.

Louis looked at each of the Barkley brothers, seeing that each of them looked angry, and he was suddenly very nervous. The Barkleys could see the wheels turning in the man's head. He remembered telling Nick and Heath he hadn't seen Jarrod, but now he was caught and he was looking for an out. Jarrod was looking at him like he was going to grab him by the throat. "I remember you!" Louis said as if it were a sudden recognition and he hadn't really lied to Nick and Heath when they were here alone. "I know you now! That picture you brought by here didn't show him right." He said the last to Nick.

"Only one thing I want from you, and I get it or I'm fetching the police in here right now," Jarrod said, keeping his voice low and threatening. "Who went out with me that night I was here?"

"I – don't know what you mean," Louis said.

"Not the right answer," Jarrod said and started to turn.

"Wait!" Louis said.

Jarrod stopped. All three Barkley brothers continued to glare at Louis.

"I did see two men follow you out," Louis said. "I didn't know who they were. I never saw them before and I haven't seen them since."

"Describe them," Jarrod said.

"Two big guys, taller and heavier than you."

"Hired muscle," Jarrod said.

Louis nodded. "It looked like they could be. Both were dark-haired, both had facial hair – moustaches and beards but their beards were different. One had a close beard. The other's was longer and had a little grey in it."

"Names," Jarrod said.

"I never got names."

"Did any of your girls talk to them?" Heath asked.

Louis looked reluctant to give any of his girls up, but Jarrod came toward him again. Louis called to a woman lost in the darkness of the room. "Caroline!"

A young girl came over. She was blonde, not particularly beautiful but kind of cute. "Yeah, Lou?" she said.

"The two muscle men who were here the other night, the ones you waited on," Louis said. "Did you get names?"

Caroline looked at the Barkley men, and she visibly moved back half a step. "I did, but I don't remember now."

"Try to think," Heath said, pre-empting his two angrier looking brothers and trying to sound more gentle.

"Look, I don't want any trouble," Caroline said, moving back even more.

"Just give them the names, Caroline," Louis said. "You're out on your ear if you don't."

Caught between losing her job right here and now, or getting into trouble with two men she hadn't seen in a week, Caroline went with the more urgent threat. "The one with the short beard called the other one Greirson, or Grayson, or something like that. I never heard a name for the one with the short beard, I swear."

Jarrod tried to think. Did he see those men at all that night? Could he remember anything about when they took him? Was it right outside? Did they inject him with something then – it seemed that they did. They certainly hadn't slugged him or beaten him up. Dr. Abernathy would have seen that. Jarrod kept trying to see them, or see how they took him, or see anything about that other night in his mind's eye, but it wouldn't come. He could remember heading for the door to leave the bar. He couldn't remember anything else.

He said, "The next time the police come to you asking for information, you damned well better give it."

With no other words to anyone, he went out, and his brothers followed him. He stopped outside. He looked around. He tried to remember being in this spot.

Nick and Heath stopped with him. Nick said, "Well, at least we know what they look like."

"Like a lot of other men," Heath said, "only maybe a bit bigger."

"What do you want to do now, Jarrod?" Nick asked.

Jarrod thought for a moment, then said, "Figure out where they had me."

Nick and Heath looked at each other doubtfully. "If you were unconscious – if you were asleep – "

Jarrod said, "If they injected me right out here – which I think they did – they would have had to carry me someplace, either on foot or by hack. It was probably by hack. Nobody knew I'd be coming here that night. _I_ didn't know I'd be coming here. They followed me from home. They probably didn't have a place nearby. Some hack driver took us somewhere. They'd have said I was drunk and some hack driver would have just taken us somewhere. If the hack driver wasn't in on it with them, he'll remember us. He'll tell us where they took me."

That made sense. "We need to talk to hack drivers," Heath said.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Wouldn't the police have talked to hack drivers?" Heath wondered as they looked up and down the street outside the bar for a hack.

"Maybe, but maybe not the right ones," Nick suggested.

"We'll talk to as many as we can," Jarrod said.

But they had no luck talking to hack drivers even though they spent a lot of money and rode up and down the same streets so often they wondered if the police were beginning to notice. They did get a helpful hint from one man though, who asked, "What night was it you think you came out of The Tent and needed a ride?"

"Tuesday night a week," Jarrod said, "about eight or nine o'clock."

"Well, there you go," the driver said. "Tomorrow's a Friday. There are a lot more hacks and drivers out on a Friday night than on a Thursday, even some who work earlier in the week."

Jarrod grumbled. He knew that. He had just forgotten. His head still wasn't as clear as it ought to be. It was near midnight, so Jarrod had this driver take them home, and as they climbed the stairs and went in, Jarrod said, "I'll go to the bank tomorrow and get more money. We'll check the hack drivers again tomorrow night."

"I been thinking," Heath said.

"Yeah?" Nick said as they came in the door.

Victoria and Audra were still up and greeted them as they came in. Victoria read their faces right away. "No luck?"

Jarrod shook his head. "We'll try again tomorrow night. There are more drivers around on a Friday night. If you will all forgive me, the day is catching up with me. I'm going to find my bed. Good night."

He climbed the stairs wearily, but at least he was climbing them. "He's doing better," Nick said to his mother and sister. "I think the drugs are getting out of him. Now – " He turned to Heath. "What have you been thinking about?"

"Maybe you and me and Jarrod oughtta pay Mr. Pennimore a visit tomorrow in his office," Heath said.

"And do what?" Audra asked. "How would that help?"

"Let the man know we're looking," Heath said. "Force him into a move."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Victoria said. "Put aside that he's a powerful man who can do more damage than he's already done. He's also not foolish enough to get goaded into anything."

"Not right away," Heath agreed, "but if he knows the three of us are looking. If we can get him uncertain enough. Brother Jarrod can do the talking. Nick and I can be the muscle backing him up."

"That's very dangerous," Victoria said. "He had Jarrod taken. He could have you killed."

"You know," Nick said, "he might already know that we're looking. He might already know what we've found out. That bartender – that Lou – I don't trust him one bit. If he didn't go straight to Pennimore right after we saw him, I'd be surprised."

"He threatened that girl into telling us what she knew," Heath said, shaking his head, and then he looked like a light went on inside. "If she was telling the truth."

"They could be sending us off in the wrong direction," Nick said, understanding turning him pale.

"Perhaps you should see that District Attorney who tried Pennimore's case, if you haven't seen him yet," Victoria suggested.

"I haven't thought about him," Heath said, looking at Nick. "I wonder if he even knows we got Jarrod back."

"I don't know," Nick said. "We'll see what Jarrod thinks in the morning."

Audra sighed, exasperated. "But how are we ever going to get anywhere if we can't be sure what we're finding out is true? If you think people might be lying to us - "

Victoria shook her head. "We're all very tired, we're getting off the track. We need to get some sleep and talk this over in the morning."

"Why don't you ladies go on up?" Nick said. "We'll follow you in a while. Jarrod's probably already asleep and we don't need a herd of people tromping around, waking him up."

Victoria took Audra's arm and as they headed for the stairs together, said, "You are the tromper around here Nick, but we'll take you up on your offer. Good night."

They all bid each other good night. As Victoria and Audra disappeared up the stairs, Nick asked Heath, "Want a brandy?"

Heath thought for a moment. They had been drinking tonight, but hadn't had anything for hours. Too busy riding around in hacks. "Maybe just a swallow," he said.

Nick went to the refreshment table and poured. As he handed Heath a snifter, he said, "You know, we're gonna have one unhappy big brother if we can't get to the bottom of this."

"I know," Heath said. "We might have to come up with a lot of new ideas as this goes along, but maybe we'll get lucky and find the right hack driver tomorrow night."

"Or irritate Pennimore into making a mistake," Nick said.

Heath said, "Or God willing, both."

Xxxxxxx

Victoria thought she was the first one up in the morning, but she found her oldest son downstairs, shaved and dressed and making coffee. She could see right away that he was his old wide-awake self, moving confidently, stable and alert. The drugs were out of him.

"Just a very slight hangover headache that should be gone once I eat," Jarrod said.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Victoria said. "We got a reply from Steven yesterday. He'll be here by seven."

Jarrod glanced at the clock in the dining room that he could see from the kitchen. It was just before six. "I'll do the honors for breakfast. I'm hungry enough to eat a bear and I better satisfy that hunger, or I'll turn into a bear. I see from the ice box and the pantry that you and Audra made it to the market yesterday."

"We had time," Victoria said.

The way she said that made Jarrod suspicious. "What were you up to yesterday?"

"Oh, nothing big. We just revisited the churches we went to when we were looking for you and told the priests and the pastors that we had found you. We asked them to keep us informed if they heard anything at all about who took you, and we said a few prayers together that you would find out what happened."

Jarrod gave her a smile and kiss on the forehead. "Thank you for that. Now, I know I'm no Silas, but may I whip up some scrambled eggs for you?"

"Does your stomach feel up to it this morning?"

"My stomach is up to eating that bear I mentioned. Sit down in the dining room. Let me bring you some coffee."

"I'd rather help."

"No. No, you've done a lot, and I am feeling magnificently better this morning. I want to cook."

Victoria raised an eyebrow and a smile. Jarrod wanting to cook was an unusual event, even though when he did cook he was pretty good at it. "All right. I'm ready to be pampered."

Jarrod and Victoria were both finished eating by the time the others came down, one by one. Jarrod was all smiles as he cooked breakfast – everyone else raised eyebrows, too. He looked so much better it was amazing.

He looked so much better no one wanted to ruin it by asking how he intended this day to go. But Jarrod brought it up himself. "We're gonna go see Pennimore and then we'll go see the D.A.," he said. "I don't want to be talked out of it."

"And what do you intend to say to Pennimore?" Victoria asked.

"Not much," Jarrod said. "I just plan to let him know I'm alive and looking. Then we'll go see the D.A. and explain what's happened, and then go to Lt. Galway and explain what we've found out so far."

"At some point you have to let the police take this over," Victoria said.

"We're not to that point yet," Jarrod said.

A knock came at the door. Jarrod was up quickly and answering it, but Nick and Heath both came up behind him, just in case this was not innocent. But it was. It was Steven, his houseman.

"Oh, Mr. Barkley, it is so good to see you!" Steven said as he came in. "I was as scared as I could be for you."

"I'm fine, Steven," Jarrod said and closed the front door behind him. "I think you've met my whole family at some point, haven't you?"

Steven nodded his greetings to everyone.

Jarrod said, "My brothers and I will be going out shortly, but my mother and sister will be staying here. I hope you can ride herd on them while we're gone."

Steven chuckled, and Audra smirked. She said, "We'll all be too busy cleaning up after you men. You left a mess in the bathroom."

"I'll take care of everything around here, Mr. Barkley," Steven said. "Starting with the kitchen, I suppose. You ladies just relax and finish your breakfast. I'll get the clean-up going."

As Steven headed for the kitchen, Nick said, "It's still a bit early for us to get going."

Jarrod shook his head. "Pennimore will be in his office early. At least, he always was before. By the time we get ourselves together, get a hack and get down there, he'll already be at it."

"Be very careful," Victoria warned.

"I know how dangerous he is, Mother," Jarrod said. "With three of us, we'll be fine, and before this is over, I expect to have him back in a jail cell while whoever has been working for him is either in there beside him or scattered like rats."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Pennimore was in his office, as was his secretary. The Barkley men walked in, and calmly, charmingly, Jarrod smiled his blue eyes her way and said, "Good morning. Would you tell Mr. Pennirmore that Jarrod Barkley is here to see him?"

She knew exactly who he was, although she looked confused to see he was here. Jarrod wondered if she had been in on his abduction, but he couldn't remember seeing her since the last time he was here, back when Pennimore had actually offered him a bribe. The secretary said, "Wait just a moment, Mr. Barkley," and she went into Pennimore's inner office. In just another moment, she came out and said, "Please go right on in, Mr. Barkley."

Jarrod led the way, Nick and Heath following with definite frowns on their faces, looking every bit the braun behind their brother's brains. Jarrod, on the other hand, put on his "cat that ate the canary" smile and approached Pennimore, who was sitting behind his desk. "Good morning, Henry," Jarrod said. "Nice to see you." He did not offer a hand.

Pennimore did not smile, and did not offer a hand, and did not get up. "Jarrod," he said. "Where have you been?"

"Come now, Henry, you know where I've been, you put me there," Jarrod said. "But I'm out and about again now, and in a way I'm glad you are, too. Because I'm gonna get you for a lot more than bribery, my friend, and I'm already half way to doing it."

"Jarrod, I don't know what you're talking about," Pennimore said.

"You just keep that line up," Jarrod said. "You'll need it when I get everything I know there is to get on you, and I will get it."

Jarrod turned and walked out. Nick and Heath both gave Pennimore serious glares before they followed him.

When they got out to the street, Jarrod stopped, took a deep breath, and said, "Well, that ought to shake him up."

"I hope it shook him up enough to make a mistake of some sort," Heath said.

"It felt good whether it shakes him up enough or not, but I'd bet good money that it did," Jarrod said. "The D.A.'s office is in the next building over. Let's go talk to him."

Xxxxxxx

"I was about to go looking for you," the D.A. said to them. "I heard you were out and around yesterday."

"I'm sorry we didn't come see you then," Jarrod said, "but my head was still swimming and we were trying to get some other things done."

"What happened to you? Do you remember?"

"No, but I'm piecing things together," Jarrod said. "I was taken and I was drugged, that much seems clear. I know where I was taken from and I have a description of two men who took me. And we just saw Pennimore."

The D.A.'s eyebrows went up. "Now, there's a kettle of fish. How did he take seeing you?"

"I think we made an impression."

The D.A. looked uncomfortable. "You're talking to the police, I hope. You might need them."

"Lt. Galway out of headquarters," Jarrod said. "We'll head that way now to bring him up to date."

"Good, that's who I was going to point you to if you weren't there already. Jarrod, I'm sorry, but with you unavailable, I couldn't get past a motion to dismiss."

Jarrod nodded. "That's why I was taken, of course."

"I'm just glad you're still alive. I guess even Pennimore didn't have the guts for murdering you."

Jarrod said, "I'm gonna get the goods on him, Harold. I'll be looking to you to haul him into court again, and this time, we'll get him."

The D.A. looked hard at Jarrod, assessing. "I wouldn't go see him again if I were you."

"I won't unless things lead me to it," Jarrod said. "But don't worry. I have protection this time." He pointed to his brothers.

From there, the Barkley men went to police headquarters and tracked down Lt. Galway. He listened to what they had found out, and he nodded and said, "I'll have somebody follow up at that bar and talk to that hack driver. And I'll get somebody to shadow Pennimore, under cover. What are you planning to do from here?"

"Get some food," Jarrod said. "I'd better stop by my own office and see what's going on, if anything. Then later we're going to talk to more hack drivers and see if we can find the one who took me someplace last week. Once we find out the where, we're one step closer to finding out the who and then tying it to Pennimore."

"If they took you someplace, you'd better be ready to find more people involved in this."

"We're ready," Jarrod said.

Heath said, "We're gonna take this as far as it goes, Lieutenant."

"Just be careful. Whoever took you might have declined to kill you once, but they could kill you the next time."

Jarrod nodded. "I'm fully aware."

"Keep me informed of what else you get or don't get, " Lt. Galway said. "I'll check in with you later tonight and let you know what we've turned up."

Once they were out on the street, Heath stopped with a shadowed look on his face that made his brothers stop. "You know," he said, "this could get really dangerous. I'm thinking we better get Mother and Audra to go home."

"They won't want to," Nick said.

"But now that I'm safe and feeling better, they may do it," Jarrod said. "I think Heath's right. They could turn into targets to get to us. Let me stop by my office and then head home. Let's talk to them."

"All right," Nick said as they started to look for a hack, "but get ready for some genuine disagreement."

They stopped by Jarrod's office to find his secretary thrilled to death to see him. She had been holding down the fort and got wind that he was free and out looking for what had happened to him. She wasn't surprised he hadn't come by yet, but then she had no pressing business to bring to his attention. If the trial had gone well, he was scheduled to still be there, taking in the defense and being ready to be a rebuttal witness. Jarrod thanked her, asked her to mind the office until he was ready to open up again, and the Barkley boys headed home.

Where to their surprise, they didn't get the opposition to the suggestion that Victoria and Audra head home that they expected to. Victoria said, "You're right. We're only targets now that you're waking some people up. If we go home, we're two fewer targets for you to worry about."

"We can leave on the evening train," Audra said.

"No, stay the night and leave in the morning," Jarrod said. "I don't want you traveling overnight and I don't want you traveling alone. I want to keep Nick and Heath with me. I'll hire a Pinkerton man to escort you."

"Jarrod, if we're gonna be out tonight talking to hack drivers, I think we might better get a Pinkerton man in here by dinnertime," Heath said. "Get somebody to be with Mother and Audra this evening and keep watch overnight while we get some rest, then take them home tomorrow."

"Any objections?" Jarrod asked his mother.

She shook her head. "No, not at all. IF the three of you stay here with us this afternoon and do some more planning. You need to decide what you're going to do after you talk to hacks this evening, and Steven is preparing enough lunch and dinner for all of us. We don't often get to enjoy your houseman's cooking as a family, Jarrod." She smiled when she said the last.

"You're right," Jarrod said. "A little time together today would definitely help my attitude."

Heath pulled his tie off. "In that case, I'm getting more comfortable."

Nick did the same and shed his jacket, too. "The thing I don't like about San Francisco is having to get all gussied up for it."

Audra said, "I'll see how Steven is coming along," and headed for the kitchen.

Jarrod shed his jacket too, but only loosened his tie, leaving it hanging around his neck. With a sigh, he stood and looked at his Mother and brothers, and realized this was the first moment he'd relaxed since he started waking up from the drugs. He gave his mother a kiss and said, "Thank you for coming. You've helped a lot."

"I'm just glad you're all right," Victoria said, "and I intend to see we all stay that way now."

Jarrod poked a thumb at his brothers. "I got the best braun in the business working for me. We're going to get to the bottom of this. Pennimore is through, I guarantee it."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

After lunch, Jarrod and Nick headed to the nearest telegraph office to send a message to Pinkerton, leaving Heath at home to watch over Victoria, Audra and Steven. Jarrod had a regular contact at Pinkerton, and he arranged for a message to be sent to him and for a bodyguard/escort to be sent to his house. Then they went back to his home.

And for the first time since this all began, they spent time together, enjoyed playing cards and talking together, and plotted out the future. The holiday season would be on them before they even knew it – Jarrod's birthday coming only a week before Christmas. It was good to think, and talk, and plan. Then the Barkley men talked about how they were going to handle the evening talking to hack drivers, and the next day or two if they didn't get any further information. Some offices would be open on Saturday morning, but many would not. What they could do on a weekend would be limited.

And if they did not learn where Jarrod had been taken from some hack driver, they were running out of ideas on how to figure it out.

Jarrod's house had a small balcony that looked out over a tiny back yard. Land was very expensive in San Francisco, so no one had very much of it except the very, very rich. Jarrod didn't consider himself very, very rich. He was just a regular professional man, in his mind. After dinner, he took a moment to step out onto his tiny balcony and smoke a cigar in private.

He was tired, but the afternoon relaxing with the family had helped him regain his strength and determination. He puffed, he thought, he rejoiced that he had survived the abduction and his family wasn't looking for his body out there in the big city. He heard someone come out behind him, and he caught the scent of his mother's perfume. He smiled, turned, and reached a hand to her.

Victoria took his hand and came up beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"Tip-top," Jarrod said. "You were right. An afternoon to relax helped a lot. I'm ready to pop out in a little while and go talk to hack drivers. I'm spending a fortune on hack drivers."

Victoria chuckled. "I'm hoping you'll find the right one tonight. The Pinkerton man has arrived by the way, and Steven wants to know if you need him anymore tonight."

"No, I'll come back in and say good-bye to Steven and hello to the Pinkerton man. What's his name?"

"Philip Davis."

"Oh, yes, I know him well. You'll like him. He'll take very good care of you."

"You and your brothers must take very good care of each other tonight, and after we leave tomorrow."

"We will. Don't you worry about that."

"I do and I don't. It's a mother's job, you know, but I know you are all very capable and careful men – for the most part."

Jarrod chuckled a little. "I'm glad you're not keeping us on pedestals."

"You'll wire us the moment you get to the bottom of everything."

"I will wire you with any significant developments. You just take very good care of yourselves at home."

They went back inside together, where Jarrod greeted Philip Davis and bid Steven a good night. At that point it became time for the men to go on the hunt again, to find that right hack driver and find out where he had taken Jarrod the night he was abducted. They were all anxious to get going. They all had the feeling that they would find the right man tonight, and that piece of the puzzle would be in the picture before midnight.

Audra gave them each a kiss. "For luck," she said.

"We'll wait up for you," Victoria said.

The men all nodded, and went out on their way. They hailed a hack and had it take them to the Red Tent, the bar Jarrod had been taken from. They questioned the driver along the way, but he said he did not work the night Jarrod was taken and knew nothing about the abduction. They believed him.

Once at the Red Tent, they went inside and looked around. It was getting lively, lots of music, lots of talk, lots of gambling. Lots of unhappy looks from Louis the bartender when they came in, and then from Caroline the waitress when she saw them. Jarrod tried his most disarming smile and walked up to her. "Good evening, Caroline," he said.

Nick and Heath had lagged behind a little bit, keeping a lookout around the room, but they could hear Caroline said, cautiously, "Good evening, Mr. Barkley. Listen, I told you everything I knew the other day."

"I believe you," Jarrod said, although he wasn't sure he did. "I wanted to verify that name you gave me – Greirson or Grayson was it?"

"Something like that, but I swear, that's all I know."

"Did they say anything else to you, like where they were from or where they worked, anything like that?"

"No, we didn't talk much. I only overheard the name, and I didn't overhear anything else."

It turned out that on Friday nights, the Red Tent had its own muscle on duty. A big man, bigger and heavier than Nick, came out of the shadows at the end of the bar and up beside Caroline, saying to Jarrod, "Good evening." Not politely.

"Good evening," Jarrod replied, politely.

"Is there something I can help you with?" the man asked.

"Only if you were here Tuesday night a week ago," Jarrod said.

The man shook his head.

Caroline said, "This is Mr. Barkley. He had some questions about being here that night, and I've already answered them all."

"Too hammered to remember what you did?" the man asked.

"I had a lot of help getting hammered," Jarrod said. "Miss Caroline here was just helping me remember a name."

"Look," Caroline said, "Lou and I already talked to the police today and told them the same thing we told you. That's all we know."

Jarrod bowed a little. "I'll be on my way. Thank you."

Nick and Heath followed Jarrod out, still scanning the room for any kind of threat but also playing the part of muscle as plainly as they could for whoever would see. Once out of the street, Nick asked, "Do you believe she's told you everything?"

"Yeah, I think she probably has," Jarrod said with a sigh. "Well, let's start spending money on hacks. Somebody picked me up right here and I'm going to find out who."

They grabbed the first one available and took it down to the waterfront, asking questions but not getting any answers. This guy didn't work on Tuesdays. Once at the waterfront, they immediately got a hack to take them back to the Red Tent. Again, they asked questions. Again, they got no answers.

They went on like this for more than two hours with nothing to show for it before they got a hack with a driver who said he did work the area on the Tuesday night in question. They got his hack at the waterfront and took it back up to the Red Tent and were about to chalk things up to another failure, when Jarrod got out and paid and tipped him, and the driver got his first good look at Jarrod.

And the driver said, 'Yeah! I did pick you up, right here, a week ago Tuesday!"

The Barkley men woke up and paid attention.

"Was I with anyone?" Jarrod asked.

"Two other guys who were practically carrying you," the hack driver said. "You must have had a good time for a Tuesday."

"I must have," Jarrod said. "Did I say anything that you remember? Did the men with me say anything, or did you catch any names?"

"No, no, you looked like you were out on your feet, and you didn't say a thing. Neither did they, except to tell me where to take you."

Jarrod felt his heart leap. "Where did they say to take me?"

"I don't remember the address, but I can take you there. I remember cause it was a real nice neighborhood."

The Barkley men climbed back into the hack. Jarrod said, "Take us there."

They asked the man more questions as they rode along. He didn't remember hearing any names or any conversation from anyone. He didn't get a good look at the men with Jarrod, but he did describe them generally just as Caroline had. He said that he drove off just as soon as he delivered Jarrod and the men to the address they had given him. "I just figured they were taking you home to sleep it off," the driver said. "It looked like your kind of neighborhood. Aren't you that lawyer that went missing from that Pennimore trial?"

"Yeah, I am," Jarrod said. "The police may want to ask you about that ride you gave me."

"You mean, those guys weren't friends of yours? Oh, man, I'm sorry. You just looked like any other three guys out on the town and you got too hammered to get home by yourself."

"It's all right," Jarrod said. "There's no way you could have known what was going on, but you're helping us now."

And then he turned a corner, and all three Barkley men sat up straight, staring, just about to jump out of their skin when the driver pulled up in front of a townhouse and stopped. "This is where I let you all off," he said.

The Barkleys looked at each other in complete disbelief. The hack driver had taken them right to Jarrod's front door.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_The Barkleys looked at each other in complete disbelief. The hack driver had taken them right to Jarrod's front door._

His mouth wide open, Jarrod said, "Here? You brought the three of us here?"

The hack driver nodded. "One of the fellas with you paid me, tipped me good, and I left you right here."

"Did you see us go into the house?"

"No. I was off to look for more fares."

Jarrod paid the man and tipped him well as he and his brothers got out of the hack. "What's your name?" Jarrod asked.

The hack driver pulled his license from behind a small glass case attached to the footwell frame beside him. He handed it to Jarrod, who pulled out the pad and pencil he always kept on him and jotted down all the information. He handed the license back. "Anything else I can do for you?" the hack driver asked.

"Not right now," Jarrod said. "Thanks. Go make some more money."

The driver took off, and the Barkley men stood staring at Jarrod's house in front of them. Something was definitely off about this, because they all knew that Jarrod had not returned home that night or any night before he was dumped in the street. So where did the two muscle men take him from here?

It dawned on Jarrod so completely that they could almost see his eyes light up in the dark – in surprise, in realization, in anger. His gaze shifted to the house next door. "Of course he knew it was valerian," Jarrod said, almost growling. "He's the one who was giving it to me."

Jarrod took off up Dr. Abernathy's steps and was pounding on his door before Nick or Heath could even catch up to him.

"Open up, Abernathy!" Jarrod was yelling. "Open up right now!"

Nick said to Heath, "Heath, go get the police, hurry up."

Heath shot back down the stairs and headed for the neighborhood police station.

No one came to the door. Nick said, "Jarrod, you'll wake the whole house up."

"He's not married," Jarrod said. "He lives alone." He quit pounding. "And I'll bet you anything he hasn't been here since he left us yesterday morning."

"Jarrod, you don't have much to go on, that it was him. If he's the one who had you, why didn't he take off the minute they dumped you the other night?"

"_He_ dumped me, and he didn't have time to get out," Jarrod said. "You were over there within minutes of finding me and getting me into the house. He had to wait until he could get away from us safely before he left, so he said he had to go see patients and that's when he took off." And then Jarrod swore an oath that would have sent his mother into a rage.

The Pinkerton man came out of Jarrod's house. He tried to hold them back, but Victoria and Audra came out and stood behind him, confused, at the top of Jarrod's stairs. They were only about ten feet away. "Jarrod, what is going on?" Victoria asked.

Jarrod glared. "It was Abernathy who had me. I was right here, next door, the whole time!"

"We found the hack driver who picked up Jarrod and the men who took him that night," Nick said. "He brought them right here."

Jarrod pounded on the door again.

Nick said, "Jarrod, give it up. You're right, he's not there, and now you're just shaking up the whole neighborhood."

"Where's Heath?" Audra asked.

"He's gone for the police," Nick said.

"Jarrod, why don't you come over here and wait inside?" Victoria asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "No. I'm staying right here until the police get here. We have to find Abernathy before he leaves town."

"He may already have left," Nick said.

"Maybe," Jarrod said, "but the sooner we find out where he's gone, if he's gone, the better the chance of catching up to him."

"Have you found out who the two men are who took you?" Audra asked.

"Not yet," Jarrod said, "but I will."

Jarrod stayed by the door for a couple minutes, but then he went down to the street and angrily paced. People walking by moved away from him as they passed him. They saw Nick standing by, watching his older brother, and it was easy to see there was something here to avoid. Then Heath and the police came up the street.

The police went straight up the stairs to Abernathy's door and started pounding. Jarrod was itching to get into Abernathy's house. "I want to see if it brings any memories back to me," he said, but he calmed down and he stayed in the street.

The police ended up breaking through the door. The Pinkerton man Davis, Victoria and Audra stayed watching from Jarrod's front door. Now some people in the street were stopping to see what was happening, while the Barkley men stayed down there, looking up. It wasn't long before one of the policemen appeared at the door and waved them up.

Davis ushered Victoria and Audra back into Jarrod's house, saying, "Best we get out of the way. They'll be over here in a minute anyway."

Victoria and Audra obeyed, and Davis went inside with them, closing the door behind them.

Jarrod and his brothers went up into Abernathy's house and stopped just inside the living room. The police had put lights on. Jarrod had been in here before he was abducted, but now he was looking and trying to remember being here while he was drugged. It was clear he had been, but Jarrod couldn't specifically remember that, maybe because he was familiar with the house at other times. He came in slowly, looking. The place looked as it always had.

Jarrod looked up the stairs. "They might have carried you up there," Nick said.

Jarrod nodded and said, "Yeah," then slowly climbed the stairs. His brothers and the policeman who appeared to be in charge followed.

Jarrod had never been up here before, so if he remembered anything, he knew it had to be from the time he'd been held here. He still found part of himself resisting the thought that it was Dr. Abernathy who had held him here – how would he have gotten involved in such a plot? What would have made him hold and drug out a neighbor he'd known personally? As he looked around, Jarrod tried to remember his history with the man.

Abernathy had moved in there a year and a half ago. He kept an office a few blocks away. He seldom had company and often came home very late, to the extent Jarrod noticed. He was coming home at the same late hour himself a handful of those times. Jarrod had never been to Abernathy's office. Abernathy was not his doctor. He only knew him as a neighbor and for the occasional household emergency, like Audra's ankle.

But now Jarrod was looking at the place not as a neighbor, but as an investigator would. There were four bedrooms and a bath upstairs. Two of the bedrooms seemed untouched, clean with beds made. The other two, not so much. One looked like Abernathy's own room. Jarrod checked the closet and the dresser drawers as the men with him watched. There was no suitcase in the closet, but there were some clothes there and in the dresser. Not a lot – it looked like some were missing. Jarrod turned to the police officer and said, "Somebody ought to go through all of these and see if there's anything helpful, but it looks like he did pack some things and leave."

Jarrod led the way to the last bedroom then, and he stopped just inside the door. The bed there was hastily made. Jarrod tore the covering back and saw the sheets were stained. Jarrod went cold. He knew how the staining got there.

"Abernathy didn't have time to clean up properly," he said. "I was in this bed. This is where he kept me."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked.

Jarrod nodded. "I remember soiling the bed once or twice. You tend to wake up from that, even if it's just a little bit. I was here. This is where he kept me. When the police checked with the neighbors while I was missing, I'm sure they didn't go searching anybody's home. I was up here all the time. Dammit, I was up here all the time."

Jarrod checked the closet and dresser drawers, but everything was empty. He stood looking some more before he left the room and went to check out the bathroom. It was clean, not perfectly, but clean enough to pass muster. Jarrod tried to remember being in this room. He thought he had been and knew Abernathy had to have taken him here fairly often, but he wasn't sure enough to swear to it. It didn't matter. He remembered the bedroom.

Jarrod came out to the hall with a sigh. Nick, Heath and the police officer waited for him to say something. He said, "I was in that bedroom. I know I was." He looked at the police officer. "This whole house needs to be searched, and the garden out back, too. I'll lay odds Dr. Abernathy has some valerian and maybe some other interesting plants in his garden, and you might find some discarded syringes or bottles of medicine, too."

"We would in a doctor's house," the police officer said.

Jarrod nodded. "I know, but you should catalog everything and get it into custody anyway. I'll bet he felt like he needed to get out of here fast."

"Why would a doctor do something like this?" Nick asked. "It's not like he needed the money."

"Maybe he did need it," Heath said. "Nobody said he was a successful doctor."

"Yeah," Jarrod said. Tomorrow was Saturday, but the doctor's office might be open first thing in the morning. On the other hand, if he had taken off, there would be a high likelihood it was closed. "We can check his office in the morning and see if anyone's there. Officer, it might take you and yours to track down any staff he has or to get into that office if it's closed."

The policeman nodded.

"Look," Nick said, "why don't we go to your place and settle down for the night? We have a few more things to talk about now that we know where you were."

"We still have to find out who the thugs who brought me here were, but Abernathy can tell us that once we catch up to him," Jarrod said.

"WHEN we catch up to him," Heath said. "That might take us a while."

Jarrod noticed Heath had not said "if," and he appreciated it. "Whatever it takes," Jarrod said. "Whoever has to break, we'll get to the finish on this. I've got no doubts, Pennimore is coming down."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

They went home to Jarrod's place, and in the living room, Victoria and Audra immediately popped up from the sofa and stood looking at them, waiting. Davis was standing near the fireplace. Jarrod led the way in, Nick and Heath behind him and closing the door. Jarrod came into the living room but stopped apart from his mother and sister. He said, "It was Dr. Abernathy who had me the whole time."

"You're sure?" Victoria asked.

Jarrod nodded. "I remembered the room he held me in. I woke up somewhat once or twice."

Audra gasped and moaned, and she and Victoria sat down again as Jarrod came in and sat down in his favorite chair by the fireplace. He leaned forward and rested his face in his hands, trying to think. Memories were coming at him now, the room and the bed where he was held, the occasional wet bed, the milk he was forced to drink – and now he could see Abernathy holding the milk. He could hear words – _drink this down, Jarrod, you'll need it – it won't be long and this will be over but you need to keep your strength up – you've been very sick but you're getting better and better every day._

"I wasn't sick," Jarrod said out loud.

"What?" Nick asked.

"He told me I had been sick and that's why he had me in bed in his place," Jarrod said. "But I hadn't been sick. He just said that to keep me under control, and my head was so foggy I believed him."

They gave him a moment. He sat up straight, closed his eyes, turned his face to the ceiling.

Davis asked, "Jarrod, what do you want Pinkerton to do about this?"

Jarrod shook his head. "Nothing yet, other than getting Mother and Audra back to Stockton."

"Maybe we should stay," Audra said.

"No, no," Jarrod said. "This is going to get even more dangerous once Pennimore gets word of what happened here tonight – and someone in the police department will tell him. And we're going to Abernathy's office in the morning. Pennimore will find out about that too. Audra, you and Mother need to go home and get out of harm's way."

"Maybe an extra Pinkerton agent with you, me and Nick is a good idea, Jarrod," Heath said.

"Not yet," Jarrod said. "Not until we sort some things out in the morning, not until the police sort some things out." He huffed out of frustration and disbelief, and leaned forward with his head in his hands again.

Victoria looked toward Nick, who looked back and said, "Listen, Jarrod, maybe you ought to hit the sack. You've had a long day and a nasty one, and it's time you got some rest."

Jarrod looked up and shook his head. "Not until the ladies have retired." He smiled at them. "I'll be all right. You should get some sleep. You have a long trip ahead of you tomorrow."

Victoria stood, and Audra stood with her. Victoria came to her oldest son and kissed him. "Good night, Jarrod," she said. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Good night," Jarrod said.

Audra gave him a kiss too, and the women headed upstairs.

As soon as they were gone, Davis said, "I'll be up down here tonight, keeping an eye on things."

"I think I'll stay up with you," Heath said.

"No, I'll take a few hours and then you take a few," Nick said. "We need some rest, at least."

"Make it three of us spelling each other," Jarrod said.

Nick immediately said, "No. You're not far off being loaded with drugs. You sleep, or we're not gonna make it through tomorrow the way we should. Heath and I will keep watch with Davis. We'll all get through the night all right."

"Jarrod, you want a brandy?" Heath asked.

Jarrod thought about it for a moment and then said, "No. I think I'll take a cigar on the balcony, though."

He got up, headed toward the balcony that overlooked the back porch, and picked up a match and cigar from the humidor on his desk on his way out. They watched him go.

Heath asked, "Nick, do you want a drink?"

"No," Nick said. "I want to take the first watch with Davis. I'll go make some coffee."

Nick went into the kitchen, leaving Heath alone with Davis, who just looked at him and said, "This is one helluva mess."

Heath said, "Yeah, even more so than our usual messes."

"I knew Jarrod had messes, but I didn't know it ran through the whole family," Davis said.

Heath smiled a small, crooked smile. "We have to go some to keep up with the lawyer sometimes, but yeah, it runs through the whole family."

Xxxxxxx

In the morning, after a good breakfast, the Barkley women packed up and left with Davis to catch the train back to Stockton. They exchanged "be very careful" with their men. This was a very dangerous time, they all knew.

"I'll feel better knowing you're back at the ranch," Jarrod said to Victoria.

"I'm gonna wire McColl that you're coming and make sure he has extra security around you," Nick said.

"And," Jarrod added, "you're not to go into town or leave the house without a guard until this is over. Not you either, Audra."

Audra looked like she wanted to protest, but Victoria said, "All right, Jarrod. Stay in touch."

"We will," Jarrod said.

Davis, Nick and Heath carried the bags down to a waiting hack and soon the women were off to the train station. Nick and Heath waved good-bye before climbing the stairs back to where Jarrod stood, now staring at the house next door and the sign on it from the police. He suspected they would be back any time now to start taking Abernathy's house apart.

Jarrod had been asking himself why Abernathy would have done what he did to him, and the only answer he could come up with was money. He hoped that they could find out something at Abernathy's office today, but he wasn't counting on it. He suspected what they would find would be a closed office, no one there, but maybe someone in the area would know something.

As soon as Nick and Heath got back to the top of the stairs, Steven arrived for the day. Jarrod gave him a few general instructions, explained where he expected to be, and said to his brothers, "Let's get going."

"Do you know where Dr. Abernathy's office is?" Heath asked.

"Yeah," Jarrod said. "It's not all that far. We can actually walk there."

"The police might be there already," Nick said.

"They might," Jarrod said. "Let's go find out."

The police were not there. As Jarrod suspected, the office was locked up tight and no one was there, but the office was in a small building with three other doctor's offices, and one of them was open. The Barkley men went into it and found a woman behind a desk, as well as two people sitting in chairs, waiting to see one Dr. Amos Minch. Jarrod put on a good smile and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning," the woman said. "How may I help you?"

"I'm not here to see the doctor," Jarrod said. "We were actually coming to see Dr. Abernathy across the hall."

She looked surprised. "Dr. Abernathy? I'm sorry, but that office closed three weeks ago. Didn't anyone tell you?"

Jarrod was surprised at how long ago it closed. "No, no one did. What happened? Has Dr. Abernathy opened another office?"

The woman looked suspiciously from one Barkley to another. "I really don't know," she said, hesitating. "Are you a patient of Dr. Abernathy's?"

"No, I'm his next door neighbor, and I've been trying to find him," Jarrod said. "He seems to have gone missing."

"Oh," the woman said. "I suppose he could have left the area but I don't really know."

The doctor came out from his inner office then, apparently to call in another patient as he let another person out. He looked at the Barkleys and hesitated to call the next patient in. He said, "Hello. Aren't you Jarrod Barkley?"

Jarrod extended a hand. "Yes, I am. Have we met?"

"I saw your photograph in the newspaper," Dr. Minch said. "Do you have an appointment with me?"

"No," Jarrod said. "I was telling your secretary, I live next door to Dr. Abernathy who had an office across the hall. He seems to have gone missing and I'm trying to find him. Have you seen him lately?"

"No, I haven't but – come in for a moment."

Jarrod motioned Nick and Heath to stay in the outer office while he followed Dr. Minch into the examination room.

Dr. Minch closed the door and said, "Is Dr. Abernathy mixed up in this abduction case of yours?"

"I'd rather not say at this point," Jarrod said, "but I do need to find him. Your secretary said he closed up his office three weeks ago."

"That's right," Dr. Minch said, "but I wasn't surprised. He didn't have a thriving practice. The rent around here isn't cheap, and he wasn't drawing enough patients to keep things up." Dr. Minch hesitated then, and finally said, "He is involved in your abduction, isn't he?"

"Like I said, I can't say right now, but what makes you think so?"

Dr. Minch said, "I noticed a couple big, rough looking men go in there a day or so before the office closed. It's just not common to see two men like that together going into a doctor's office, and neither one of them seemed to be sick. I thought it was probably a shake down for money he might have owed someone."

Two rough looking men. "Can you describe these men?" Jarrod asked.

"Both heavy, dark-haired with facial hair – one a close beard, one a longer beard with some grey in it."

Jarrod felt recognition wash over him. That described the two men who took him outside the Red Tent. "Did you see the men leave?"

"No, frankly, I just came into my office and kept the door closed except for letting my own patients in. I didn't like the looks of those two. Should I be talking to the police, Mr. Barkley?"

"I'll make sure they come over," Jarrod said, "though I suspect they'll be here any time anyway. Thanks for your help, Doctor."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Jarrod took his brothers outside to the street before he told them what Dr. Minch had said. Neither Nick nor Heath looked particularly surprised, even at the news two men who resembled those who abducted Jarrod had gone in to see Dr. Abernathy.

"It looks like Abernathy pulled the wool over our eyes real good," Nick said.

"And it looks like genuine money trouble was behind whatever he had to do with this." Jarrod began to think. Money trouble. What could get a doctor into enough money trouble he'd go to doing a favor like abducting a man for somebody like Pennimore?

Drugs or gambling, that's what.

Jarrod had some contacts in the private gambling world, and even one or two in the drug underground. But his first thought after thinking of them was a reluctance to turn to them just yet. He didn't want to risk exposing them to the police or to a man like Pennimore. Besides, Jarrod knew he wouldn't get much cooperation. His contacts would be avoiding him right now. This situation he was in was getting too much press coverage and public curiosity, and Jarrod's contacts would want none of that.

Heath noticed the wheels turning in his older brother's head. "Something bothering you, Jarrod?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said, snapping back to the here and now. "Just feeling more cautious as we find out more." Then he thought of something more pressing. "Looking for those two men to make sure they're not around."

"Not a bad idea to watch for that," Heath said. "Pennimore probably knows by now that you know where you were held."

"I wonder if he knows where Abernathy's gone," Nick asked.

"I doubt it," Jarrod said. "If I were Abernathy, I'd have left town the moment he was through with me the other morning and I wouldn't have said a word to anybody. If he did that, finding him is gonna be hard."

"We need Pinkerton," Heath said.

Jarrod said, "My thoughts exactly. Unless he left town under his real name, the police aren't going to find him. Pinkerton has more resources and can spread those resources across the whole country."

Just then, two policemen came up the street, from the direction of the police station. They saw the Barkley brothers and zeroed in on Jarrod. "Mr. Barkley?" one of the officers asked.

Jarrod nodded. "Have you come to check on Dr. Abernathy?"

"That's right."

"He's not here. Dr. Minch said his office has been closed for three weeks, and he had a couple other things to say. I suggest you go talk to him. His office is right inside."

The officer nodded. "All right. Thanks."

"I want to talk to Lt. Galway at headquarters," Jarrod said. "Do you know if he's in today?"

"I don't know for sure, but I heard they were expecting him to turn up at Dr. Abernathy's home while our people were collecting evidence there."

Jarrod nodded, and the police officers went into the building.

"I guess we'll head back to your house, unless you want to go see Pinkerton first," Heath said.

Jarrod said, "I want to talk to Galway before I talk to Pinkerton. I don't want them bumping into each other working on this."

"What about the D.A. who tried the case?" Nick asked.

"We'll stop by his office and see if he's in, but I doubt it," Jarrod said. "He's probably done with all this except for finding out whatever the police and us find out. I'll check in with him on Monday if he's not there today."

Jarrod heaved a sigh. Nick gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Pappy. I got a feeling."

Jarrod smiled a little. "A feeling?"

Nick nodded. "We're gonna find Abernathy and soon, and pretty soon we'll have Pennimore, too."

Jarrod chuckled. "I hope your feeling is right, Brother Nick. Let's go see if we can find Galway at my place."

They did find Galway at Abernathy's house. Several police officers were bagging things and carrying them out, while Galway nosed around a watched. The Barkley men filled Galway in on what they learned at Abernathy's office, and Galway frowned when he nodded.

"Abernathy is gone for sure," he said. "He probably left on the train under a phony name, but I'm having somebody check out the trains and the boats and even the livery stables, just to be sure."

"We plan to talk to Pinkerton," Jarrod said. "I've used them a lot. They might be able to find something on him even if he did use a false name."

"We really need the men who took you," Galway said. "They may be the only chance we have left."

"I just hope they haven't left town too."

"I'll bet they haven't," Nick said out of the blue.

Everyone looked at him. Jarrod said, "Your feeling?"

"That and thinking it through," Nick said. "They were probably local hired muscle, and they probably think you don't remember them at all. They were with you for what, maybe ten minutes, in the dark? Until things look threatening to them personally, they're not gonna leave where their work is, and the chances that they've found out we have their descriptions are pretty slim."

"Unless they went back to the Red Tent and talked to that bartender and waitress," Heath said.

"No, they'd steer clear of there," Jarrod said. "The only way they're not staying low and far away from this, is if Pennimore has hired them again. After we saw him he's probably getting information of how much we're looking…". Jarrod let his thinking trail off.

But Heath nodded, understanding. "He might be regretting the fact that he didn't have you killed outright."

"And try for you now," Nick said.

"That wouldn't be smart," Galway said. "There's three of you now, and there's no element of surprise. If Pennimore is smart, he'll just keep quiet."

"Who said he was smart?" Jarrod said. "Having me taken was a dumb move to begin with. Not having me killed outright was even dumber."

"Well," Galway said. "Why don't you go have your talk with the Pinkerton people and see what you can do, but keep your eyes open along the way for a couple of muscle men following you."

"Oh, believe me, they're open," Jarrod said.

The Barkley men checked in with Steven at Jarrod's house, then hailed a hack and went to the Pinkerton office, leaving a visit to the D.A. for Monday. One of Jarrod's contacts at Pinkerton, a man named Calder, was in, and the Barkleys had a long talk with him. Calder said, "We'll check this guy Abernathy out, see where he came from and if he's gone back there. Talk to some former patients if we can find any. We might get ideas about phony names he might have used, if he used any. But it might take a while, Jarrod."

"I'm a patient man," Jarrod said, "and luckily, I have money, too. Abernathy doesn't have either good fortune."

"Do you want us to do anything with these two muscle men who picked you up?"

"I'm not sure what there is to do. We only have the descriptions we gave you, and the name Grierson or Grayson for one of them," Jarrod said, and then decided. "Yes, if you can pick anything up on them along the way, do it, but aim for Abernathy first. He'd be the treasure trove in this."

"You know, there's one thing we might want to consider, even though I don't think it's likely," Heath said.

"What's that?" Calder asked.

"That Abernathy might be dead," Heath said. "That Pennimore might have had him killed."

Jarrod shook his head. "He'd have had me killed first. He wouldn't have gone to the trouble of hiring Abernathy and then kill him instead of me. Pennimore isn't the kind to run the risk of killing Abernathy to keep him quiet."

"I think you're right," Calder said, "but we won't NOT look for a body while we look into this. You never know."

"All right," Jarrod said.

The Barkley men got up from their chairs, and Calder got up, saying, "If I were you, I'd put this aside for the weekend and let the rest of us pursue it. You really look like a man who was drugged out for a week and needs a better recovery period than you've given yourself."

Jarrod took a look at himself. His suit was baggy on him, and when he shaved that morning he did see a bit of a haggard man looking back at him in the mirror.

"There might be an advantage to just walking around and taking in the sights," Nick said. "If those two goons are following us, we might spot them."

"That too," Calder said. He gave Jarrod a slap on the back. "A beer and a card game on the waterfront, a little visibility near your office. You never know who might turn up. Just be pretty damned careful."

Jarrod nodded. "I like the card game idea. I've spent a small fortune on hack drivers over the past couple days. I could stand to win some money back."

"We'll make it a few card games," Nick said. "Let's go."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It happened faster and more suddenly than any of them expected it. They were walking along the waterfront, heading for a bar Jarrod knew. Nick and Jarrod were walking together, Heath just behind them – because something, maybe something like what prompted him to look out on the street the night they found Jarrod out there – made Heath look around, all around. And there they were, two big men, both dark-haired, one with a short beard, the other with a longer beard that had some gray in it. They turned and went into a bar the Barkleys had just passed by.

Heath said, "Wait a minute," and Nick and Jarrod stopped.

"What?" Nick asked.

"I think I just spotted Jarrod's two muscle men following us."

Neither Nick nor Jarrod looked around, keeping their eyes on Heath. "Where?" Jarrod asked. His eyes flashed.

"They went into that bar we just passed," Heath said. "Maybe they saw me looking their way, I don't know, but they sure look like they were following us."

"Well, gentlemen, shall we go check this out?" Nick said.

"Wait a minute," Heath said again. "There are police all around here. Why don't we go get some help, help with handcuffs?"

"Why don't I do that while you two keep an eye on the door?" Jarrod said. "I don't want them walking off. If they saw Heath catch sight of them they might try."

"All right," Nick agreed.

Jarrod kept going down the street, while Nick and Heath parked themselves at the pier that intersected not far from where they were. From there, they could keep an eye on the door. Nick lit up a cigar, looking casual. Heath took another out of Nick's pocket. Nick raised an eyebrow but lit it for him. Nick turned to keep an eye on the door of the bar while Heath kept his back to it.

"What are we gonna do with them if they come out?" Heath asked.

"Well, we'll find out," Nick said. "They just came out."

The two men turned and headed back up the street the way they and the Barkleys had come. Nick and Heath kept their cigars in hand and followed. Cigars could be very handy in a fight with men bigger than you were. They could put eyes out if necessary.

The two men picked up speed, but Nick and Heath matched it, and soon Nick was bellowing from only a few feet behind them. "Greerson! Might we have a word?!"

The men both flinched for a moment, the one with the longer beard turning reflexively at what sounded like his name, but Nick wasn't surprised when they started walking faster. Nick and Heath kept pace with them and tried to catch up, but suddenly around a corner, two policemen appeared and blocked the way. Everyone stopped.

"What's the problem, officer?" the man with the longer beard asked.

Jarrod and another officer came up behind Nick and Heath. "We have some questions for you," the officer with Jarrod said.

The two men turned around. They saw Jarrod, but no recognition flashed in their eyes. Sadly, no recognition came to Jarrod, either. If these were the men who had taken him, he'd never be able to testify to it.

But they didn't need to know that now.

The man with the longer beard asked, "What about?"

"A couple things," the police officer said. "Why don't you come along with us to the station, quietly, and we'll see if we can clear things up."

The two men kept playing things very cool. The two officers who had blocked their path came toward them, and the men walked toward the Barkleys and the officer who did the talking. Jarrod stepped aside, letting the police take the men away. He watched as they did, and beside him, Nick said, "I suppose we ought to go with them."

Heath asked, "What do you think, Jarrod? Are they the ones who took you?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "I don't recognize them."

"That's gonna be a problem," Heath said.

"That, I do know," Jarrod said, "but let's go along. Maybe something will break in our favor at the police station."

But he didn't sound hopeful. Nick and Heath looked at each other, and worried these two muscle men would be walking out of the police station free in about half an hour. Jarrod started after them, though, and Nick and Heath followed along.

The Barkley men had been waiting at the police station for more than an hour when Lt. Galway showed up. They were surprised to see him. No one expected him to turn up at this waterfront station, but he came straight to them and said, "I had left word at all the precincts that I wanted to be sent for if these two turned up. Mr. Barkley, can you say for sure these are the men who abducted you?"

Jarrod shook his head. "No, I can't, but they do fit the description the saloon girl at the Red Tent gave us."

"When I called the name she gave us, the right guy reacted," Nick said.

"Her name was Caroline, the girl at the bar," Jarrod said. "And Dr. Minch can place them at Dr. Abernathy's office, and the hack driver whose name I gave you fellas will be able to name them as the ones who took me from the Red Tent to my home the night I was abducted. That ought to be enough to hold them until you can question those witnesses."

Lt. Galway nodded. "We will."

"Is there any luck finding Dr. Abernathy?" Heath asked.

"Not yet, and I'm not hopeful we'll get anything at all out of these two toughs even if we get nuns and priests to testify about seeing them abduct you," Lt. Galway said, "but we're not giving up. I suggest you gentlemen go home, or go off to a poker game somewhere. Just get out of here. I'll check in with you later tonight at your home, Mr. Barkley, and let you know where we are."

The Barkley men took his advice, and left the building. It took Nick all of five seconds to ask, "Wanna find a poker game? We don't have to worry about those two following us anymore."

"As long as we don't have to worry about somebody else picking us up," Jarrod said.

"They were probably following us because Pennimore paid them to, you know," Heath said.

Jarrod nodded. "Kind of risky to hire the same men who took me to follow us now," Jarrod said, "but Pennimore probably grabbed them because they were quickest and he figured I wouldn't be able to identify them. But that doesn't mean he won't grab somebody else. We still need to be careful." Then he gave a big huff. "And yeah, I could use a poker game and a sandwich and a beer. Let's go."

They found the poker game, the sandwich and the beer, and they each lost a little money, but only a little. No one seemed to be following them as they made their way back to Jarrod's place late in the afternoon. On the way home in the hack, they talked about what they wanted to do next, but Jarrod was weary. "I want to find out that Mother and Audra made it home all right," he said. "I want to have a big scotch and a big steak dinner and a big cigar. Then I want to have a talk with Galway and a long night's sleep. You two can head down the street and find a big dinner and another poker game if you want. I'll be all right."

"No, we're with you," Nick said.

"Steven will be with me."

"No, we're with you," Nick repeated. "We're charging by the hour, you know."

Jarrod chuckled.

They arrived at Jarrod's house without any difficulty, and as he closed the door behind them, Steven said, "There is a telegram waiting for you there on the table, Mr. Barkley."

Jarrod saw it on the small table at the foot of the stairs and quickly picked it up. He opened it, read it, smiled. "From Davis. He got Mother and Audra to the house without any trouble. They'll be all right there."

"Would you like me to get dinner together for you gentlemen?" Steven asked.

"Yes, please," Jarrod said. "The biggest steaks we have in the house."

Steven smiled. "About seven o'clock?"

"Perfect," Jarrod said and sat down wearily in his favorite chair.

Nick was already shedding his jacket and tie and laying them across the back of the sofa. He took off his cufflinks, slipped them into his pocket, and rolled up his sleeves.

"Would any of you gentlemen like a drink?" Steven asked.

"I'll take care of it, Steven," Nick said.

"Very well, sir," Steven said and headed for the kitchen.

Heath sat down on the sofa across from Jarrod and eyed his older brother. There was no fire in the fireplace, but Jarrod was staring as if there were. "What are you concentrating so hard on, Jarrod?" he asked.

Jarrod sighed. "Pennimore. How to tie Pennimore into this. He's bound to have a least one more layer of people in the way. He didn't approach those muscle men or Dr. Abernathy himself."

"So, we just connect Abernathy to the middle man and the middle man to Pennimore," Nick said.

"Pennimore is a wealthy and powerful politician, Nick," Jarrod said. "It's gonna take some doing to get the people we need to roll over on him."

"You rolled over."

"Not really. I've never been on his payroll."

"I'm just grateful he didn't have you thrown into the bay," Heath said.

"He should have," Jarrod said with a small laugh. "But I guess he just didn't want to risk murder."

"I don't know," Nick said. "I mean, we don't really know what those two goons following us today had in mind, do we?"

"No, we don't," Jarrod said. "We shook Pennimore loose though, and now he's nervous. When he finds out Greerson or whatever his name is and his buddy are arrested, when he finds out we've got witnesses to finger them for abducting me, when he finds out we know Abernathy's involved – and when we find Abernathy – " Jarrod leveled a gaze at his two brothers.

Heath finished the thought. "He's gonna be getting a lot more nervous."

Jarrod nodded. "And nothing is more dangerous than a wealthy and powerful politician when he gets very nervous."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Victoria thanked the young man for bringing the telegram so late in the evening and tipped him well before bidding him good night. She opened the envelope as she came down into the foyer and headed for the living room, where Audra was relaxing with a glass of sherry for a night cap. Victoria read the wire and was all smiles.

"It's from Jarrod," she told Audra as she sat down next to her on the settee. "He got Davis's wire that we had arrived home safely, and the two men who abducted him have been arrested."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Audra said. "Does he say how it happened?"

"No, but he said he'd write more in a letter," Victoria said. She couldn't believe how relieved she was that the two men had been caught. In the back of her mind, she was worried they would appear again and be a threat. "That takes a load off my mind, Audra."

"But nothing about Dr. Abernathy," Audra said.

"No," Victoria said, "but I don't see him as much of a threat. I'm certain he's left San Francisco."

"But I wonder where he went."

"Who knows? As far away as he can get, I'm sure. I still find it hard to believe he was the one drugging Jarrod and keeping him locked up, right next door."

"It is hard to believe. He was a kind man."

"Not kind," Victoria said. "Two-faced, I'm afraid." And she wondered, too, where he'd gone.

As Victoria and Audra were talking, Lt. Galway was knocking on Jarrod's front door. Steven had gone home for the night, and Nick didn't want Jarrod answering the door, so he answered it himself. "Lt. Galway," he said so Jarrod and Heath would hear him, and he opened the door wide and stepped aside. "Come on in."

Nick closed the door behind him after he came in. "I just wanted to bring you all up to date on where we were."

"Would you like a drink, Lieutenant?" Jarrod asked. "Or some coffee?"

"No, thank you, I'll be on my way home from here and won't stay long. We brought the waitress Caroline in – she couldn't or wouldn't identify the two men as those she saw in the Red Tent, but we had the hack driver in too, and he did identify them as the ones who were with you when he picked you up there and the ones who got out of the hack with you out front here. Dr. Minch came in and identified them as the men he saw go into Dr. Abernathy's office, so we have our connection there, too. They'll be arraigned on Monday for your abduction."

Jarrod said, "I hope you have some protection for those witnesses, given what happened to me."

Lt. Galway nodded. "I've already arranged it, for the next week at least, though frankly neither man seemed reticent about telling us what they know or appearing at a trial. We'll see how that holds up. If we can get the two goons to plead guilty, there won't be any threat to the driver or Dr. Minch, at least not until we connect all the dots here."

"So all we need is the connection to Pennimore," Heath said.

Lt. Galway nodded. "But that might be tough to get. Grayson – his name is Grayson and the other guy is Bullock – they're hired muscle and they aren't talking. They won't be talking unless we come to some plea agreement that makes them talk. I'll let the D.A. deal with that and we'll know more on Monday."

"And still nothing about Abernathy's whereabouts," Jarrod said.

"He must have used a phony name to get out of town, or else he's just gotten lost in town," Lt. Galway said. "We'll keep trying to locate him, though. I know he won't turn up next door, but if by some crazy chance he does – "

"We'll notify you," Jarrod said.

Lt. Galway looked hard at him. "Just make sure you don't put a fist through his face first."

Jarrod had to admit, "I can't make any promises, but I'll try not to."

Lt. Galway turned to go back out the door. "I'll be on my way. Nothing much will happen on a Sunday. You gentlemen just relax a bit tomorrow."

"What time's the arraignment?" Jarrod asked.

"They begin at ten, main courthouse, Courtroom 4," Lt. Galway said. "I'm sure I'll see you there."

"Count on it," Jarrod said.

The Barkleys bid him good night, and Nick let the man back out the front door. As he closed the door, he said, "Well, that's a lot more than I was expecting this fast."

"Me, too," Jarrod admitted. "But Dr. Minch and the hack driver came through. I'm sorry they're tied up in this, though."

"I don't know," Heath said. "Once this hits the papers, it might get them both a bit more business."

"Maybe," Jarrod said. "But I don't know whether it's going to prompt Pennimore into doing something foolish or paralyze him instead."

"Yeah," Nick said. "If he's smart, he'll just shut down and not do another thing about you. Your two goons will never talk, and the chances of finding Abernathy are pretty slim."

"I know I'd shut down if I were Pennimore," Jarrod said, "at least until something else happened. Now – how do we get something else to happen?"

"You wanna prod the bear again?" Nick said, somewhat unbelieving.

"I want Pennimore to pay for keeping me locked up and drugged for a week," Jarrod said, and there was venom in his eyes.

Nick and Heath looked at each other. They knew what a strong motivator revenge could be for their older brother. Sometimes he wasn't too wise when it took him over. "Tell you what, Jarrod," Heath said. "Why don't we take the lieutenant's advice, get some rest, spend an easy Sunday, and tackle all this after the arraignment? Right now, we're not gonna come up with the best ideas."

Jarrod relented. "You're right. Okay, we let things stew until Monday. Maybe something will break loose somewhere by then."

"As long as it doesn't break any of us," Nick said.

It rained all day on Sunday, and San Francisco could be heavy with wind as well, and it was. The rain pelted the windows at Jarrod's place like a storm of gunfire, and the Barkley men were reluctant to go anywhere. Steven did not come in on Sundays, so they were on their own, but they were not as helpless as their mother and sister might tell people. They split up the cooking chores – Nick made breakfast, Jarrod made lunch, and Heath reserved dinner for himself. Heath liked to cook. He just seldom got the chance.

"You are pretty good at it," Nick had to admit.

"I grew up cooking," Heath said. "My mother was always working, trying to find a way to support us. I'd have dinner ready by the time she got home."

"Somebody taught you some tricks," Jarrod noted as he put a piece of good steak into his mouth.

"Hannah," Heath said. "What that woman could do with a piece of wild rabbit – I swear, she could teach them a few things at Delmonico's."

They had napped, or played cards, chess and checkers all day. They tossed around some ideas for the following day, but after dinner, with brandy in hand, they got down to business.

"I don't think Pennimore will come anywhere near the arraignment, do you?" Nick mused.

"No, he won't come," Jarrod said. "He might send somebody though."

"He wouldn't send anybody you know," Heath said.

Jarrod said, "He wouldn't send anybody that anybody would know. He'd hire a lawyer or something and send him."

"You'd know the lawyer," Heath said.

"Maybe, not necessarily," Jarrod said. "This town has a lot of lawyers and gets more all the time. But if I spot someone I know who looks out of place, I'll talk to the D.A. about it."

"What do you think? Are they gonna cut a deal with these goons?" Nick asked.

Jarrod said, "I don't think so. The D.A. would only cut a deal if he could get the name of whoever hired them, and they probably won't give that up unless they actually get to walk."

"So you don't think we'll get much information out of this arraignment."

"No," Jarrod said. "But I could be surprised. You know how that tends to happen in my line of work."

"How'd you come to be a lawyer, anyway, Jarrod?" Heath asked.

Jarrod realized Heath had never asked him that question before. He chuckled. "Mother's idea. She thought we'd save a lot as a business concern if we had an internal lawyer who only took a share of the profits he was going to get anyway. And, she was watching Nick grow up. She knew he'd be in trouble all the time."

"Hey!" Nick protested. "Is that any way to talk about a man who's currently watching your back?"

Jarrod and Heath both laughed at his phony indignation. "You're right, Brother Nick, it isn't," Jarrod said. "And I heartily apologize." He raised his glass. "Here's to my brothers, my bodyguards, my confidants – two men who scraped me off the street and will undoubtedly do so again if called upon."

Nick and Heath drank to each other, and Nick said, "And here's to our older brother, a man whose convictions get him laid out on the street often enough to need us to scrape him up."

"And to his good brandy," Heath added, and they all drank one more time.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The arraignment went as plainly as any arraignment ever went. There was no plea bargain to talk about, and Grayson and Bullock were carried of back to jail at the end of everything, a trial date for them set for two weeks away. There was still a chance they could plead out, but Jarrod was not optimistic. These guys were not about to talk.

Lt. Galway was there, but didn't have much to say to the Barkleys except to tell him they were still looking for Abernathy and now suspected that he hadn't yet left town. "He's lying low around here somewhere, probably trying to figure out what to do, and he might well do it anytime now."

"How's his bank account?" Jarrod asked.

"He didn't have much of one," Lt. Galway said. "He closed it out the morning you turned up."

Jarrod took a moment to enjoy staring Grayson and Bullock down as Lt. Galway left the room. Jarrod caught the men's eyes as they were leaving the defense table, and he stared hard. The two men were held in his gaze, but ultimately were taken off, at which point Jarrod approached their lawyer. He knew the man, not well, but he didn't believe he was Pennimore's man. He wondered who was paying for him, and Jarrod decided he'd have the nerve to ask.

Orville Tamp had an awkward name, but he was a well-known defense attorney and had been for several years. Jarrod followed him out of the courtroom at the end of the arraignment, not wanting to disturb the arraignment that was next up, and Nick and Heath followed him. Jarrod hurried up to Tamp in the hallway and said, flatly, "Who's hired you, Orville?"

Tamp stopped, turned, looked only vaguely surprised. "Jarrod. I didn't realize you were in the courtroom but I suppose I should have figured you would be."

"They took me, but we both know it wasn't their idea," Jarrod said. "I'd look to who was paying you if I were you before you get in much deeper."

"Who's paying me is none of your business," Tamp said.

"I'll find out, and I'll connect him to Pennimore, if it's not Pennimore himself," Jarrod said. "If I were you, I'd be checking it out. You don't want to be answering to Pennimore up the line. Trust me on that, Orville. You don't want any part of it, or you might find yourself held captive and drugged for a week."

Tamp just turned and went away, unwilling to talk about it anymore, but Jarrod didn't have anything more to say anyway.

"Is he a legitimate attorney?" Nick asked, watching Tamp walk away.

"He has been until now," Jarrod said. "It could be he doesn't know it's Pennimore behind all this. It could be some go-between has hired him."

"Grayson and Bullock hired him themselves," the D.A.'s voice came up behind them.

"You sure about that?" Jarrod asked.

The D.A. nodded. "I'm not saying the money didn't come from Pennimore, and we're looking into that. But I suspect Pennimore paid them enough up front before they took you that they'd have the bucks to pay for a lawyer if they needed one. It might be tough to trace the money."

"I'll leave that up to you," Jarrod said with a sigh.

"I'm afraid our best bet now is to find Abernathy," the D.A. said. "If we can find him, he's the most likely to break."

"He might be floating out to sea by now," Heath said.

Everyone looked at him. Everyone had thought of that but didn't want to say it. "I prefer to think he got out of town or into hiding before Pennimore could get to him," Jarrod said.

"Pennimore might have somebody looking for him," Nick suggested.

The D.A. nodded. "Nasty little waltz we're doing here, isn't it? You dance with me until I don't want you anymore, then I throw you in the bay."

"We've got to get him, Harold," Jarrod said.

"We'll do our best, but you know how slippery these politicians can be. We'll just have to keep trying."

The D.A. moved on, leaving the Barkley brothers looking after him. "Well," Nick said, "what do you want to do now, Big Brother?"

Jarrod gave it a thought, and said, "Let's go poke the bear again."

He took off, and his brothers had to hustle to keep up with him. Pennimore's office was within walking distance and they moved deftly through the foot traffic on the street, but it wasn't until they went into Pennimore's building that Nick caught Jarrod by the shoulder, saying, "Wait a minute. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Very," Jarrod said. "Grayson and Bullock getting arrested is going to have shaken him up and when I tell him I know about Abernathy keeping me, he'll really feel the pressure, especially if he hasn't found Abernathy himself."

"You might be setting the doctor up as a target," Heath said.

"He'll be a target no matter what," Jarrod said. "He was a target the minute he let me go, from me and from Pennimore, and he knew it. That's why he fled."

They reached Pennimore's office, but Jarrod kept Nick and Heath from coming in with him. "Hey, you're not going in there alone," Nick said.

"You'll be right out here," Jarrod said. "I want to get personally nasty. I want him to think you don't know how nasty I'm getting."

"You watch yourself," Nick said. "I don't want to be going to your arraignment tomorrow."

"You won't," Jarrod said. "This shouldn't take more than thirty seconds."

With that, Jarrod went in through the door to Pennimore's office, and Nick and Heath stayed behind. Jarrod didn't even bother with Pennimore's secretary – he just went right into Pennimore's office. He found Pennimore behind his desk, jotting down a note. Jarrod got a quick glance at it before Pennimore stuffed it into his pocket.

The only thing Jarrod really noticed were the initials "O.T." "Well, well," Jarrod said with an evil grin. "Seems like you already know a few things about Mr. Grayson and Mr. Bullock."

"Get out of here," Pennimore said.

"In a moment," Jarrod said. "I just wanted you to know what I knew – that I was at the arraignment and I had a short word with Orville Tamp. And I know more, Pennimore. I know it was my neighbor, Elias Abernathy, who held me captive for a week and drugged me out, and the police know it and I'll bet you already know they know it too. I know a witness who saw Grayson and Bullock go into Abernathy's office a little while back. The dominoes are falling right into place, Henry, and they're about to fall down on you. The next arraignment is yours, and this time I'll have you for a lot worse than bribery. You're gonna rue the day you just didn't take your chances on that charge and leave the rest of this alone, because I'll have you before the week is out. I will see you in prison for a good long time. Or - "

Jarrod left the bigger threat as just an insinuation. He turned and marched out, the nasty smile still on his face. He walked straight by his brothers with a brief, "Come on," and the three of them went out into the street, where Jarrod immediately hailed a hack.

"Where are we going?" Heath asked as they climbed in.

Jarrod gave the hack driver his office address. "I'm going to go cut my secretary loose for the week and take care of a couple things, right in front of my nice big window."

"Whoa!" Nick said. "You're sounding good and determined to get yourself killed!"

The hack driver gave a little glance over his shoulder as he started off, but they all could tell he was not going to be listening anymore. He didn't want to know.

Jarrod said, "You don't know my glazier. After a few objects like rocks and dynamite were thrown through my window in Stockton, I had some extra thick glass put in here. My glazier knew a little formula to have it made even tougher. Not much but a twelve-pound shot from a brass Napoleon is coming through that window, and I might add a lot of people know all about it, including Pennimore. He had some installed in his office, too."

"You'll still be vulnerable at home," Heath said.

"That can't be helped," Jarrod said. "I know I just made myself a target, but I've already been one. We just have to keep me as covered as we can, and keep innocent people from getting dragged into anything. And we have to find out what happened to Abernathy."

"The Lieutenant figures he's still in San Francisco," Heath said. "He probably hasn't had the money to leave."

"That could very well be the truth," Jarrod said. "So we just have to figure out where he is here."

"The police aren't having a lot of luck," Nick said. "What makes you think we will?"

"We've still got Pinkerton," Jarrod said.

"There's something else we've got," Heath said.

"What?" Nick asked.

"A tail," Heath said.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Maybe Abernathy will get tired of running and turn himself in," Heath mused as the Barkley men headed up to Jarrod's office on the second floor of his building.

"Maybe he'll fly to the moon, too," Nick said.

Jarrod's secretary was in the outer office and popped up from her desk as soon as the Barkleys came in. It was clear she was relieved to see it was Jarrod and not someone else. Jarrod tried to smile her anxiety away. "Annie, relax, I want you to go home and stay there until I call you back. I'll keep paying you. I just want you away from here."

"Oh, Mr. Barkley," she said, "it's not that I'm afraid – "

"Of course not, but I'm being cautious. Besides, I got these two lugs watching me. I'll be fine."

"Hello, Annie," Heath said cordially.

"Can they type?" Annie asked.

Nick and Heath both burst out laughing. Jarrod's grin was more subdued and accompanied by a twinkle in his eye. "That might be worth trying out."

Annie took her reticule out of the lower desk drawer. "I have the feeling that Mr. Nick would probably heave my typewriter so hard out the window it would actually break it, so maybe you'd better leave the typing to me."

Jarrod escorted her to the door. "I'll let you know as soon as I need you. Hopefully, it will only be a couple days."

"There are a couple things on your desk you need to sign and file, Mr. Barkley. Just take care of yourself," Annie said and went out.

And that was a load off Jarrod's mind, but he was a little unsettled when Heath went into his inner office, stood by the side of the window, and looked outside. "So, you think we have a tail?" Jarrod asked.

Heath said, "I want to be sure Annie gets out of here all right, because we've definitely picked up a tail."

Nick started for the window, too, but Jarrod raised a hand and held him back. "If someone is following us, all three of us at the window is gonna scare him off," Jarrod said. "Is she away all right?" 

"Yeah, I think so," Heath said. "The guy I spotted following us just went into the bar across the street. He's not following her."

"What does this guy look like?" Jarrod asked.

"A couple inches shorter than you and me," Heath said. "Maybe Nick's age, skinny, straight brownish hair, wearing a real nice dark blue suit. You want to go pay him a visit?"

"Not yet," Jarrod said. "Let me sign a couple things and take them to the courthouse to be filed, then we'll go see Pinkerton, and if he's still with us after that, we'll say hello."

"I think before we see Pinkerton we better get some food into us," Nick said. "I'm starving, and you know how you get – "

"Yes, I know how I get when I don't eat and I don't need another foggy brain," Jarrod said.

"And it'll give us a chance to see if this guy I spotted is staying with us," Heath said, coming away from the window.

Jarrod nodded. "Let me get these papers together and we'll go. There's a pretty good little café near the courthouse."

They went to the courthouse and then the café, where they got something to eat so that Jarrod wouldn't get foggy brained again. From there they walked to Pinkerton's offices, wondering if the man who seemed to be following them would keep it up. On the way there, they didn't see him.

"Maybe I read him wrong," Heath said.

"Let's see if he's around when we come out," Jarrod said.

They went inside and sat down with Calder, who said, "Good news and bad news. We're almost entirely sure Abernathy hasn't left town, but we haven't gotten wind of where he is here, either."

"Drugs and gambling," Jarrod said. "I started thinking about why he'd need money – because it's clear he did need it – and what I came up with are drugs and gambling."

Calder nodded. "That's what we've come up with, too, plus perhaps women he needed to pay for. We're still asking the right questions of the right people. We just haven't found him."

Nick began to remember that certain gentlemen's club they had visited while they were looking for Jarrod. "Maybe it's not women he's tangled up with," Nick said. "Maybe it's men."

Nick explained about the club they'd visited, and Jarrod nodded. "I know the proprietor. I defended him in court a while back. I can go there and talk to him and probably get more out of him than you can."

"All right," Calder said, "but watch yourself."

"That brings up something else," Jarrod said. "We may have picked up a tail today."

Heath described the man to Calder, who said, "It's not one of ours. You think it's from Pennimore."

"I'm sure it is," Jarrod said. "There's only one reason I can think of he'd have someone shadowing us. He's hoping we'll lead him to Abernathy."

Calder thought about it and nodded. "That seems very possible. Pennimore wouldn't have either us or the police followed. That leaves you if he wants someone to take him to Abernathy."

"What do you think we ought to do about it?" Heath asked.

"What do you want to do?" Calder asked. "You can confront him, or you can shake him, or you can just let him keep following you."

Nick and Heath looked to Jarrod on the question. Jarrod thought hard about it. "We thought we might confront him if he's still with us when we leave here, but maybe we ought to let him stay with us for a while. Maybe, if we find Abernathy, our tail will make a mistake and give himself up to us. And Pennimore." Jarrod thought some more and quickly added, "Maybe we ought to have somebody follow him."

Nick grinned. "Now, that might prove interesting."

Calder nodded. "It might. He might connect Pennimore to this quicker than we think. I'll have a man take a look when you leave and pick up who's following you, if he still there, and then watch the watcher. Wait just a moment while I line somebody up."

Calder went out of his office and in a moment returned with a young man, about five-ten with brown hair, very non-descript. Someone who would easily blend into a city crowd.

"Gentlemen, this is Allen Spellman," Calder introduced him. "Watch for him. You'll see him a lot today."

"I'm told not to interfere with the tail you picked up, just to follow him and see where he goes unless he creates trouble for you," Spellman said.

Jarrod nodded. "Or if he leads to you somebody interesting, like Pennimore."

Spellman nodded. "In which case I'll be back in touch with Mr. Calder right away."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Heath said. "As long as you keep your eyes open for one more shadow turning up, watching you."

Spellman smiled. "I'll be watching my back, too."

"So will we," Nick said. "This could get very complicated."

"But Spellman is good at what he does. Your shadow isn't likely to pick him up, and we'll be optimistic that he won't. All right, gentlemen," Calder said. "Let's proceed."

The Barkley brothers left, and it wasn't long before they spotted their tail in the nice blue suit again. They made sure he didn't notice that they saw him, and they made sure that Spellman was right behind him.

"Well, it's working," Nick said privately to his brothers.

"Wouldn't it be an interesting world if everybody in it was following somebody else?" Jarrod mused.

Heath chuckled, but Nick groaned. "Only you would think of that."

It made Jarrod laugh.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Nick said, "I want to go to that club that catered to – other kinds of gentlemen. That one with the bartender Jarrod defended a while back. Since he owes Jarrod a favor, maybe he'll come up with some information, even if it isn't about his club."

Jarrod understood. "Alvin Norse," he said, "bartender at the place with no name on the door and a homosexual clientele."

Jarrod used the word so easily it surprised Nick and Heath. It wasn't a word they ever heard him use. For that matter, they'd never used it themselves or heard anybody else use it except as an insult in a bar fight or something.

Jarrod caught their looks. "San Francisco is full of different kinds of people. I defended Alvin on a morals charge and he went underground for a while after that even though I got him acquitted. So, he's back at Cecily's Club."

"Is that the name?" Nick asked. "Cecily's Club'?"

Jarrod began to try to hail a hack. "That's what men call it. There are a lot of code words used in that society. I don't think Abernathy frequented the place, but I don't know since I don't frequent it." He looked at his brothers' uncomfortable expressions. "You can wait outside while I talk to Alvin if you're uncomfortable."

A hack pulled over, and they climbed in. "It's not the kind of people we run into in Stockton," Heath said.

Jarrod laughed a little. "My dear brothers, that clientele is everywhere, but since it's illegal, they're very good at keeping it quiet, until they need a lawyer. Then they know who to turn to, a lawyer who is not inclined to their way of life but who will see they get their say, and I'm one of those lawyers." Then he said, "Whatever you do, don't tell mother about the darker side of my profession. Not that she probably doesn't know about it anyway."

"I don't think I want to know any more about it than I already do," Nick said.

"If we don't get any information from Alvin Norse, we'll check other gentlemen's clubs," Jarrod said.

"There's that other one you went to now and then," Heath said, very quietly, after thinking about whether to say it or not.

Jarrod gave an ironic smile. "You found out about that, did you? You boys have been looking hard for me."

"I'm sorry she went to Chicago," Heath said.

Jarrod said, "Not as sorry as I am."

They lost both men following them on the way to Cecily's Club, but while Jarrod went inside, Nick and Heath both stayed on the street and soon noticed they'd been caught up with by both of them. Inside, Jarrod saw Alvin Norse behind the bar and extended a hand. "Alvin, how are you?"

"Mr. Barkley!" Alvin said in surprise as he shook Jarrod's hand. "I had given you up for dead!"

"Not yet," Jarrod said. "How have you been?"

"Keeping out of trouble," Alvin said, "at least until the police decide to raid again."

"Do you have someone giving you a head's up on that?"

Alvin grinned a little. "Mr. Barkley, you know I won't tell you whether I do or not."

Jarrod chuckled. "Of course not. I need to ask you something."

"No, Pennimore doesn't come in here," Alvin said.

"That wasn't who I was going to ask about," Jarrod said. "There's a man – a doctor named Abernathy."

"You know a lot of men don't use their real names around here."

Jarrod nodded. "This man is tall, about six-three. Younger than I am by about five years I'd say. Very blond hair."

Alvin thought. "A doctor, you say?"

"Yeah."

Alvin sighed. "Could be a guy who comes in here, but I haven't seen him for at least a couple weeks. He just uses the name Elias when he's here."

Jarrod stiffened. "That's Abernathy's first name. He never used a last name?"

"Not that I ever heard."

"Who did he see when he came in?"

"Nobody regular that I noticed. He usually saw somebody new and I wondered if that was his preference, but then one of the guys mentioned he didn't seem to have a lot of money to spend."

Now Jarrod's neck was crawling. "The man is missing and I think he might be on the run from Pennimore. Is there anyone here he might be staying with, to stay out of sight? Anybody he's been seeing recently?"

Alvin thought again, and seemed to think of someone, but was uncomfortable about it. "Mr. Barkley, you're asking me to put one of my boys on the line about this."

"Yes, I am," Jarrod admitted, "but Dr. Abernathy is involved with my disappearance, and there are people other than me looking for him, people who might endanger anyone around him. If you know where he might be, you need to let me to be the one to get to him first, or your boy could get hurt in the crossfire."

Alvin looked worried, like he didn't know what to do. Jarrod just watched him, waiting. Alvin finally said, "Two blocks down, at 2520. My boy has a room on the first floor. Number 3."

Jarrod's heart started pounding. "What's your boy's name?"

"Asher. I'll let him give you his last name if he wants to. He's a good kid. I don't want to see him get hurt."

"Neither do I," Jarrod said, "and if Abernathy's with him I'll try to get him away and out of his hair for good. Thank you, Alvin."

"Yeah," Alvin said, but still sounded very uncomfortable.

Jarrod hurried back out to the street where Nick and Heath were standing. As he joined them, he looked around. "Are our tails with us?" Jarrod asked.

"Yep, both of them," Heath said. "Did you find out anything?"

"Don't react, but I might have hit the jackpot," Jarrod said. "I need to get down to 2520, room number 3, but I don't want our man in the blue suit to follow me."

"You are the one he'll follow if we split up," Nick said.

"Where is this guy, and where is Spellman?"

"Blue suit is across the street," Heath said. "When you came out, he went into that men's shop there. Spellman is on the same side of the street but a block to the east, reading a newspaper."

Jarrod looked up and could see Spellman. "Heath, why don't you go get Spellman to delay our blue-suited friend while Nick and I head down to 2520. Tell Spellman that if we're lucky, we'll be bringing Abernathy out down there in a couple minutes, but don't let blue suit see you talking to Spellman for longer than it takes to walk right by him."

"Got it," Heath said.

Jarrod and Nick hustled away down the street toward 2520.

Heath made it across the street and managed to be just in time to bump into blue suit who came out of the men's shop as Jarrod and Nick started away. Heath made sure to delay him a bit, brushing him off, apologizing, asking if he was all right, explaining he didn't mean to run into him, doing and saying anything to get a delay while looked back up the street toward Spellman. Spellman understood Heath wanted him there and came down toward him, and the act began. "Hey, now, friends, let's not get into a tussle here on a city street," Spellman said.

"There's no tussle," Heath said. "I just bumped into this man and I was apologizing."

"You've apologized enough," blue suit said and tried to move away.

Heath and Spellman tried to distract him long enough to get a glance at where Jarrod and Nick had gone, and to keep blue suit from seeing where they were. It worked. Jarrod and Nick went into a building two blocks away while blue suit was trying to extricate himself.

Spellman broke it off first, saying, "Just don't get to fighting, all right? There are always cops nearby." And he went on his way, turning a corner, purposely not going exactly where Jarrod and Nick had gone but finding himself some cover in case blue suit was right behind him.

Heath let blue suit go, and he went a block further toward 2520 before he too turned a corner and found a place to watch 2520 from. Then he took a deep breath, saw blue suit go by, and watched as the man passed 2520 and kept going. It had worked. Blue suit didn't know where Jarrod and Nick had gone. Now Heath knew he just had to keep watching, and waiting, and wondering what was happening inside that building.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Jarrod knocked on the door of room number 3, and a young man opened it just a crack to see who was there. It wasn't Abernathy who answered the door. "Yeah?" the boy asked.

"We're not the police," Jarrod said. "Alvin sent us."

That was only a bit of a lie, and it worked, a little. The boy didn't slam the door in their faces. He just said, "Yeah?" again.

"I'm a friend of Alvin's," Jarrod said. "We just – want a minute of your time." He tried to sound not only non-threatening, but interested in a way that would interest the boy, professionally.

"What about?" the boy asked.

Jarrod decided to play it plain. "A doctor named Abernathy. We need – "

The boy started to slam the door on them, but Nick and Jarrod were both ready for it. They hit the door before it could close and shoved hard. The boy who had opened it tumbled out of the way, and inside another man went running toward the front window. Nick caught him before he made it there, grabbing him by his collar and shoving him down on the bed nearby.

Jarrod had hold of the boy who had opened the door. Nick had Dr. Abernathy.

"I know everything," Jarrod said to Abernathy, "and I'm not the only one. You have at least one man out there looking to maybe kill you, but I've got two other men out there, too. Your best bet is to come with us and answer questions about why you did what you did to me."

Abernathy slumped, but he didn't say anything.

Jarrod said to the boy who lived here, "You stay right here and you lock this door until I come back to tell you what's what. Do that, and you'll be safe. You – " he said to Abernathy. "You come with us."

Nick dragged Abernathy to his feet, and soon they were outside. Heath saw them and came across the street to them. Jarrod had no idea where Spellman was, but he waved an arm hoping the Pinkerton man would see it, and Spellman did. He came hustling to them as well.

Further up the street, the man in the blue suit saw what was happening. He turned and kept going away from 2520.

They took Abernathy to the nearest police station. The sergeant there cut Spellman loose, and Spellman said he'd report back to Calder at Pinkerton's but he assumed his work in this was done now unless they were still concerned about blue suit. Jarrod shook his hand, saying, "Now that we have Abernathy, I'll bet blue suit is off to report in. I think we're all right, but we can get back to you if we have any more trouble. Thanks for keeping an eye on us."

Spellman went on his way, but the Barkley men stayed. Lt. Galway was summoned and arrived within 45 minutes or so, looking hurried but looking excited. "You found him," was the first thing he said to the Barkleys.

Jarrod nodded. "I'd rather not say where until we're talking privately, and even then I hope to keep it somewhat confidential."

"Somebody was hiding him out," the lieutenant said.

"I'm not sure the boy knew he was doing that," Jarrod said. "I hope you'll give me some leeway here, let me talk to the boy first, maybe keep his involvement to a minimum if we can."

"We will have to talk to him," Lt. Galway said.

Jarrod looked at Nick and Heath, then back at Lt. Galway. "Let me go see if I can bring him here. I'd rather you didn't send anybody to his place if you can avoid it."

Lt. Galway nodded. "I'll be a while questioning Abernathy anyway. Bring the boy here and we'll talk."

The Barkleys left, Nick saying quietly, "Do you really think the boy hiding Abernathy out didn't know Abernathy was on the run? He was awful wary about opening that door."

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "It could be he just thought he was helping out a lover who was out of money, and just having a male lover in there is illegal too, so of course he wouldn't want to open the door to us. I just want to talk to the kid before the police do."

"You can't be his lawyer," Heath said.

"Not under these circumstances, no," Jarrod said, "but I can still help to keep him out of this, if his only involvement is taking Abernathy in and he didn't know the real story."

They started back up to the 2520 building but they hadn't gotten far before Heath said, "Jarrod, our friend in the blue suit is back."

"Where?" Jarrod asked without looking around.

"Ahead about a block," Heath said. "On the right."

Jarrod and Nick both caught a glimpse of a blue suit disappearing into a saloon. Jarrod made a decision. "Let's go get him. We can take him to the police and then go see the kid who had Abernathy."

They headed for the saloon, Nick saying, "The kid who had Abernathy might be running now, too."

"I don't think so," Jarrod said. "I don't think he knows how serious this whole thing is. I think he was just letting a lover stay with him."

"I hope you're right," Nick said.

In a moment, they entered the saloon and approached blue suit, who was at the bar. The man looked up at them, and slumped at the way they looked at him. He didn't think he had been made, but now he knew he was. "Let's go see the police," Jarrod said.

Blue suit went quietly with them. At the police station, they had to explain to the desk attendant why they had brought the man in and that they were about to go fetch someone else. The policeman looked confused but resigned, and in a few minutes, the Barkleys were back in front of 2520.

Jarrod said to his brothers, "You stay out here. I want some private time with him. He might be willing to say some things to me he wouldn't say in front of you."

"I'm not sure this kid wasn't in on it with Abernathy," Nick said.

"I'm not either," Jarrod said, "but if he was and there are problems you're likely to hear some noise from that room right up there." He pointed to the boy's room.

Nick and Heath nodded, and waited on the street while Jarrod went inside 2520.

This time, when Jarrod knocked at number 3, the boy opened the door to him as soon as he saw him. Jarrod went in, and as he closed the door behind him, the boy said, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Dr. Abernathy has been arrested for abducting me and holding me captive for a week," Jarrod said flatly.

"What?!" the boy said, physically recoiling.

"I'm sorry, it's true. What did he tell you when you let him move in here?"

The kid sat down on the bed, looking so nervous he was shaking. "He said he was broke and he needed someplace to stay until he could get his office reopened. He said it would only be a few days. You gotta believe me. I didn't know he was into anything like kidnapping."

"I need to take you down to see the police," Jarrod said. "I didn't think you'd want them to come here."

"Why do I have to go to the police?" The boy was scared.

And Jarrod knew why. "If you didn't know what Abernathy had done to me, I'll do whatever I can to see no other charges are brought against you. I'll argue like crazy that just having Abernathy living with you should not be prosecuted. I know the officer in charge – Lt. Galway. I think he'll listen to me."

"But you don't know for sure."

"No, but I know that if you don't come with me, the police will be a lot less believing in whatever you end up saying."

The boy seemed to understand that, but he still looked scared.

Jarrod said, "I defended Alvin on a charge a while back and he was acquitted."

"I know," the boy said. "He was here right after you left and he told me."

"Trust me, then," Jarrod said. "Come answer a few questions and I'll do everything I can to get you right back here and out of this as fast as I can."

The boy hesitated, but then he nodded and got up.

It was two hours later at the police station before Lt. Galway came out from the interview rooms in the back to tell the Barkley men what was going on. The boy who had let Abernathy stay with him followed the lieutenant out, and kept on going after giving Jarrod a brief nod, like he wanted to go while the going was good. "We're not interested in him," Lt. Galway said.

"What about Abernathy and the guy in the blue suit?" Nick asked.

"The man in the blue suit is named John George. He hasn't been very forthcoming but he's sent for his lawyer, who is a bigger heavyweight than I thought he'd have access to. We'll have to see where we go after his lawyer gets here. Dr. Abernathy is another matter."

"What does he have to say?" Jarrod asked.

"Everything," Lt. Galway said. "He is scared to death of Pennimore."

"He admits he was working for Pennimore?"

Lt. Galway nodded. "An intermediary hired him, a former patient of his. My bet is Pennimore figured he was safe as long as Abernathy didn't know he was working for him. Neither Pennimore nor the intermediary knew that Abernathy knew Pennimore was involved, but Abernathy found out through some hospital records that this intermediary was Pennimore's man. Abernathy just needed the money so much he was willing to get down into the dirt, but when you started nosing around, he got scared. And Pennimore stiffed him anyway. Abernathy only saw a pittance of the money Pennimore promised him. He might have seen more, but he got scared and took off after he dumped you. When he ran, that probably scared Pennimore, and now Abernathy's scared that Pennimore will be after him for running."

"Will he testify against Pennimore?" Jarrod asked.

"For the right deal. He can't afford a lawyer. We'll be cutting a deal, I'm sure."

"Abernathy's not gonna look forward to being in prison with Pennimore," Heath said.

"He won't be," Lt. Galway said. "We'll make sure they're not near each other, but we'll make sure they're both inside for this. We'll need you as a witness again, Mr. Barkley."

"This time I'll make it," Jarrod said. "But I need some time to recover from all this first."

Lt. Galway nodded. "Going home to Stockton?"

"As soon as possible," Jarrod said.

The Barkley men finished up with the police, and somehow, when they went out to the street, the world seemed immeasurably brighter than it had in ages. Jarrod stopped, took a deep breath, and felt his shoulders relax, finally.

"Well," Heath said, "now what?"

"I'll tell you what," Jarrod said. "They aren't gonna need me here for at least a week. It'll take that long to put things together and sort out any guilty pleas."

"So?" Nick asked.

"So, I want to go home," Jarrod said, "spend a little time on the back of a horse tending cattle, and soaking in the sunshine."

"Mother and Audra would be glad to see that," Heath said.

"We can still pack up and make an overnight train," Nick said.

Jarrod said, "Let's go."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

One month later

Jarrod Barkley put his left hand on the bible and raised his right hand, saying, "I do," after the bailiff read the oath to him. Jarrod listened carefully to the words. He always listened carefully to the words. To Jarrod, an oath was a sacred thing. When you took an oath, you were putting yourself up front and center before the whole world. You were saying you were a person of honor, a person who could be trusted, a person who would be truthful or be ready to go down for not living up to those things. This time, it was even more important, because this courtroom was filled with reporters and important political people, some of whom he wanted to be aligned with, some of whom he never wanted to be around.

It was more important because his two brothers, his sister and his mother were in the courtroom too. Time off at home after his abduction and efforts to find out what had happened to him had helped him recover and get his bearings back, but what helped most was the support of his family, as it always did. He was a lucky man, and he knew it, and that bolstered his belief in his oath even more.

Pennimore had been arrested before the Barkley brothers even made it to the train the night they left San Francisco. By the time Jarrod took the stand, the two men who had abducted him had already been tried, convicted and sent off to prison. They never gave up Pennimore or anyone else. John George in the blue suit had cut a deal, told all and had been cut loose after serving a week in jail. He was just a follower to keep Pennimore informed, not a killer, and he wasn't a big enough player in this mess to bother with. After he was released, he disappeared, and the police couldn't locate him. Since he wasn't needed for the trial, nobody seemed to care much.

This was Henry Pennimore's trial, for having Jarrod abducted so that he could not testify at the bribery trial. Witness tampering, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and assault, and obstruction of justice were the main charges. While he was on the witness stand, Jarrod avoided the temptation to look down at Pennimore sitting at the defense table. What he made sure to do was to answer every question by looking toward the jury as he did, as he always told his witnesses to do when he was trying a case. Everyone in the room knew Jarrod Barkley. Everyone in the room knew that he knew what he was doing.

Jarrod was the first witness to be called. He and the D.A. had talked about him taking the stand last, to maximize his impact, but they decided to open up strong with him, then call him on rebuttal at the end of the case. They were pretty certain the defense would give them opportunity for that. The D.A. asked Jarrod to give his name and address, then they went through some questions establishing his profession, his knowledge of what this trial was about. Then the real questions started.

"Mr. Barkley, where were you on the night of June 14 last?"

They had gone over the questions several times, but did not rehearse word for word answers. They did not want to sound too scripted. Jarrod said, "On June 14 I came to my home in San Francisco from my family's ranch in Stockton. I dropped my briefcase off at my house and then went out to get some dinner."

"Do you remember where it was you went?"

"No," Jarrod said. "I have no actual memory of that."

"What is the next thing you remember?"

"Bits and snatches of things. I remember fading in and out of consciousness every now and then. I remember a voice feeding me some foul-tasting milk and telling me I had been ill. I remember being in bed and I remember soiling that bed more than once because I was not allowed to get up."

"Did you know where you were at the time?"

"No, not at the time."

"What is the next thing you remember after the bits and snatches?"

"I remember being partially awake but lying on the street. I didn't know where, but it turned out I was on the sidewalk in front of my own house. Two men who turned out to be my brothers carried me into my house."

"You recognized your house and your brothers?"

"Yes, once I was inside. My mother and sister were there, too."

"What happened next?"

"My neighbor, Dr. Elias Abernathy, came over and examined me."

"How coherent were you?"

"I woke up more as time went on, but when Dr. Abernathy said it was all right for me to go to sleep, I fell asleep on the sofa."

"What time was all this occurring?"

"I asked and was told it was about three in the morning."

From there, the D.A. asked about what happened next, and Jarrod took it all step by step, explaining all the things he and his brothers did together to find out what had happened to him. When he got to the part where they found out he had been held in Dr. Abernathy's house next door to his the whole time, an audible gasp went around the room. Jarrod finished up his story with finding Dr. Abernathy at the room at 2520 and taking him to the police station.

"Did you have any leftover effects from the drugs you had been given, Mr. Barkley?" the D.A. asked then.

"Some fogginess in my mind for a day or so, but no. The fogginess passed and there are no effects left over now."

"Mr. Barkley, where were you supposed to be during the time you were held captive?" the D.A. asked.

"I was supposed to be testifying in the case of the State of California versus Henry Pennimore on a charge of bribery," Jarrod said.

Another gasp went around the room.

"Did you ever testify in that case?"

"No. The case was dismissed before I was released."

When Jarrod completed his testimony, after cross-examination that didn't do much for the defense and only four rebuttal questions, Jarrod was excused but kept available to be recalled. He returned to his seat in the courtroom with his family and said to them, "You can go on now if you like. I'm not sure you're going to want to hear what Dr. Abernathy has to say. He'll be pretty specific about how he treated me while he had me."

Both Victoria and Audra took of expressions of defiance. "We'll stay with you," Victoria said. "If you're staying to hear it, we'll hear it too."

Jarrod gave his mother a smile and a squeeze of the hand. "If you're going to stay, you need to stay for the whole thing. If you try to leave while anyone is testifying, the defense is going to argue your leaving is influencing the jury. They will be trying every trick in the book in this case."

"We're staying," Audra said flatly.

And they all stayed. And when Abernathy was brought in to testify, they all heard everything about every indignity, every bit of psychological suffering and drugs he had inflicted on Jarrod while he had him. Abernathy had cut a deal that kept his prison time to a minimum, and in return he testified honestly and fervently for the prosecution. Jarrod caught a juror looking his way now and then, looking toward his family too, and he wished they hadn't stayed, but even Nick kept his expression plain, undisturbed, when Jarrod knew he wanted to run up and throttle Abernathy.

But Nick stayed quiet, and Abernathy drew an ugly portrait of the week of hell he put Jarrod Barkley through. "I'm glad I don't remember it," Jarrod said very quietly to his mother.

Victoria squeezed his hand.

The trial went on for several days. The hack driver and Dr. Minch both testified. The defense had witnesses, too, to try to exonerate Pennimore, but Pennimore did not take the stand. The Barkleys came for every bit of it, and when it came time for the State's rebuttal case, the D.A. called Abernathy again to clean up some questions about how he identified the intermediary who hired him as Pennimore's man. And then he called Jarrod again.

The defense had tried to paint a picture of Jarrod as a political enemy of Pennimore's who had been lying about his ambitions, libeling Pennimore with his bribery accusations. It was a feeble effort that seemed to bore some of the jurors and antagonize others. The D.A. asked Jarrod about his political ambitions, and he honestly testified he had none. Then he asked, "Mr. Barkley, were you prepared and fully willing to testify in the case against the defendant that you were prevented from testifying in?"

The defense objected to the question, but the judge let it stand. Jarrod said, "Completely." And then he snuck in, "If that case were retried tomorrow, I'd be testifying in it."

The defense objected again. The judge had the last of Jarrod's statement stricken but by then it didn't matter. The damage was done.

The last motions to dismiss by the defense were denied, the jury retired while the parties went over instructions, and then the jury came back to be instructed. When they were led out to deliberate, Pennimore left the defense table under the watchful eye of courthouse guards and a man from the police assigned to keep him in sight. He had been jailed before the trial, but right now he didn't look like a man who had been in jail, and he really didn't look uncomfortable at all. Did that mean that something on the jury was fixed and Pennimore was confident he'd be acquitted? Jarrod kept that worry to himself.

While the jury deliberated, the Barkleys took the time to get a bite of food at a nearby café. Jarrod was very quiet during the meal, but they all understood why. It had been a very personal case for him, especially when Abernathy testified about the personal indignities he'd inflicted on the lawyer. Jarrod endured the sensitive facts Abernathy had testify to and all the other baloney Pennimore and the defense testified to. He knew it was necessary to hit Pennimore as hard as possible and also let him spin his nonsense out and help hang himself, but enduring it had drawn Jarrod inside, and now he was staying there. His family let him.

It took hours of deliberation, but Jarrod was actually surprised it didn't take longer. The jury came back before the day was out. Pennimore was found guilty on every charge.

Every bit of tension flew out of Jarrod like birds out of a belfry when the bells rang. He watched Pennimore being taken into custody, despite the defense motion that he be allowed to remain free while the case was appealed. The judge cited a flight risk, and Pennimore was taken off to jail. Jarrod's heart sang.

It was a little tough getting through the reporters to a hack to take them home, but Nick and Heath cleared the way. Only two hacks followed them to Jarrod's home, and the family got inside without answering any questions shouted at them. Steven was there and the house smelled of a lovely beef burgundy for dinner. The Barkley men shed their coats and ties and the family relaxed with drinks. Heath checked out the window and announced, "It looks like the press is gone," at one point, but beyond that, they did not talk about the trial or anything to do with it.

They talked about cattle and mines and various people in Stockton. They talked about Audra's plans to raise money for new bedding for the orphanage. They talked about Audra's latest beau and the new family in town with the lovely daughter just a bit younger than Heath. They talked about anything other than what they had just been through.

Until much later, after dinner and brandy, after Victoria and Audra went upstairs to retire for the night. Jarrod poured a bit more brandy for his brothers and they all lit up cigars. After bidding Steven a good night and sending him home to his family, they sat and drank and smoked. They talked a little more but were mostly silent, winding down. It had been a very long six weeks.

"I gotta thank you boys again," Jarrod said. "I couldn't have made it through all this without you."

"Sure, you could have," Nick said. "You're the toughest of all of us, you know."

"I doubt that," Jarrod said with a chuckle. "You restrained yourself admirably through that whole trial. Didn't jump up yelling at anybody at all."

They all laughed then, and Nick said, "Well, I guess the big city tamed me a bit."

"What happens now, Jarrod?" Heath asked.

"They'll appeal, and it'll go nowhere, and Pennimore will lose his position and do time," Jarrod said.

"I meant with you," Heath said. "Seems to me you ought to take some time off, maybe go fishing or hunting or something."

"Maybe," Jarrod said, "but the truth is, I'm just anxious to get back to normal. A will here, a land transaction there. Maybe a little petty theft case. I just want to be a regular lawyer again."

"I'm glad to hear that," Nick said, "because I got a few things you can do for me. You know that winery thing we never cleared up with the county – "

Jarrod groaned, and sighed, and finished his brandy, and said, "Maybe fishing does sound like a good idea."

"I'll go with you," Heath said.

The End


End file.
